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Stocks closed mixed on Tuesday, while the price of oil fell below $80, as markets kept their hopes up for the US-Iran peace deal due to be signed this week. The FTSE 100 closed up 63.59 points, 0.6%, at 10,494.21. The FTSE 250 ended down 36.04 points, 0.2%, at 23,326.58, while the AIM All-Share fell 1.36 points, 0.2%, to 803.93. The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.6% at 1,042.63, the Cboe UK 250 was slightly higher at 20,079.84, but the Cboe Small Companies Index fell 0.6% to 18,481.87. Blue-chips took their lead from continued hopes of an end to the war in the Middle East. US President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would ‘completely open’ once Washington and Iran sign their peace agreement on Friday in Switzerland. While Iranian media reported that three oil tankers and two cargo ships had already passed through. ‘Although the deal has not been formally signed, there already appears to be a peace dividend for markets,’ said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB. ‘We are seeing European markets play catch-up with the US, and this could continue, as some European indices remain below their pre-war levels,’ including London’s FTSE 100 index, she added. Brent crude for August delivery traded lower at $79.95 a barrel on Tuesday, down from $83.18 at the time of the equities close in London on Monday. In European equity markets on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended up 0.8%, and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt edged 0.1% higher. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7%, the S&P 500 was 1.7% higher, but the Nasdaq Composite eased 0.3%. SpaceX remained in favour after its IPO, soaring a further 9.8%, as it announced the US60 billion acquisition of AI developer Anysphere, which trades as Cursor. Meanwhile, US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh kicked off his first meeting in charge of the central bank’s rate-setting committee on Tuesday, with policymakers expected to keep rates steady. Fed officials are set to keep rates at a range between 3.50% and 3.75%, extending their pause on cuts since the start of the year. The decision will be announced on Wednesday after the two-day meeting. They will also release their quarterly Summary of Economic Projections, which includes guidance on growth, inflation and interest-rate expectations. Analysts expect the Federal Reserve to remove the easing bias from its statement, while Warsh’s first press conference will be watched closely as the market look for hints at the direction of interest rates. Bank of America thinks the new Fed Chair will ‘likely lean dovish’ in the conference, arguing that supply shocks are one-offs, that the Fed should be forward-looking on AI disinflation, and that trimmed-mean PCE and wage inflation do not appear problematic. But JPMorgan thinks the meeting will feature ‘more continuity than regime change’. The euro traded little changed against the greenback, at $1.1603 on Tuesday against $1.1604 on Monday. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥160.46, higher from JP¥160.14 on Monday. Weakness in the Japanese currency came despite the Bank of Japan’s expected quarter-point interest rate hike to 1.0% at its June meeting. Amova Asset Management’s Chief Global Strategist & Chief Economist Naomi Fink said the hike was ‘well-signalled and priced into the market beforehand.’ Looking ahead, the BoJ said it will ‘continue to raise the policy interest rate and adjust the degree of monetary accommodation, in response to developments in economic activity and prices as well as financial conditions.’ It will continue ‘closely monitoring’ the impact of the Middle East on Japan’s economic activity and prices and examine the ‘likelihood of realising the baseline scenario of the outlook for economic activity and prices and the risks to the outlook.’ ING thinks the timing of the next hike will depend heavily on the situation in the Middle East. ‘The possibility of an October hike increases if a long-term peace deal is made soon,’ ING said. ‘The debates between the hawks and doves are expected to continue in the coming months, and the pace of rate hikes should be only gradual. We’re keeping our base case for the December hike, as the situation in the Middle East remains fluid,’ ING added. The pound traded at $1.3422 on Tuesday afternoon, down from $1.3436 on Monday. Against the euro, sterling ebbed to €1.1567 from €1.1580 on Monday. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury eased to 4.45% on Tuesday from 4.47% on Monday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury narrowed to 4.95% from 4.96% on Monday. Gold traded at $4,323.46 an ounce on Tuesday, lower from $4,354.54 on Monday. In London, improved confidence about economic prospects lifted banks NatWest, HSBC and Barclays by 2.2%, 1.8% and 1.5% respectively. Housebuilders also rallied, with Barratt Redrow up 1.8% and Persimmon up 2.5%. Rolls-Royce added a further 2.6% after its Swedish small nuclear reactor contract win on Monday. On the FTSE 250, Currys jumped 4.2% as RBC Capital Markets upgraded to ’outperform’ from ’sector perform’. The broker said the London-based electronics retailer is transitioning from being a recovery play to a likely multi-year compounder with strong cash returns. Its strong relative position should allow for further share gains and growth in higher margin services and adjacent categories, in the broker’s opinion. But Rathbones plunged 17% after reporting a series of moves that will hit profit by £60 million and halt new inflows from some clients. The firm said it has voluntarily halted new inflows from some existing high-risk clients until they ‘meet certain requirements’. The London-based investment and wealth manager outlined the moves after a skilled person review, which followed engagement with the UK Financial Conduct Authority. It expects a £60 million profit hit over the next two years. ‘The review has identified areas for improvement within the group’s UK Wealth Management business regarding the implementation and embedding of consumer duty, as well as certain aspects of its compliance, oversight and assurance arrangements,’ Rathbones said. The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Endeavour Mining, up 117.00p at 4,223.00p, Rolls-Royce, up 34.60p at 1,393.00p, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, up 36.00p at 1,486.00p, Persimmon, up 26.00p at 1,078.50p and Convatec, up 5.00p at 209.00p. The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were BT Group, down 5.45p at 197.05p, Associated British Foods, down 32.50p at 1,894.00p, Antofagasta, down 59.00p at 4,231.00p, Relx, down 32.00p at 2,420.00p and Marks & Spencer, down 3.20p at 372.20p. Wednesday’s global economic calendar has UK and eurozone inflation figures, US retail sales data and the interest rate decision by the US Federal Reserve. Wednesday’s local corporate calendar has full-year results from AO World and a trading statement from PZ Cussons. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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