The FTSE 100 rose on Tuesday as investors took a glass-half-full approach to the latest developments in the US-Iran negotiations, which saw a US blockade imposed yesterday afternoon.
With it unclear whether the blockade should be viewed as a negotiating tactic or an escalatory move, equity investors looked to oil markets and a 2% drop in Brent as a cue to move back into stocks in the hope a lasting deal can be struck later this week.
The FTSE 100 was clinging on to gains, trading 0.1% higher at the time of writing, amid a European rally that didn’t seem amazingly convincing.
“European equity markets pushed higher on talk that US and Iranian negotiation teams would continue peace talks later this week,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.
“Investors are embracing any nugget of good news as they grow tired of uncertainty caused by the Iran crisis.”
Cyclical stocks were back among the gainers with miners Antofagasta, Anglo American, Fresnillo and Melten enjoying buying pressure. For all the volatility caused by the war in the Middle East, miners have had a surprisingly good year so far. Glencore is one of the FTSE 100’s best performers of 2026, rising 40%.
BP’s share price was weaker after it released an upbeat trading statement, which was overshadowed by falling oil prices.
“UK oil giant BP released a short trading update, noting that on the whole, first-quarter total production volumes should be slightly lower than in the prior quarter. But its oil-trading arm looks set to deliver an ‘exceptional’ performance, benefiting from current volatility in oil prices,” said Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.
Intertek was the FTSE 100’s top performer after signalling it was preparing to break the group up to ‘unlock’ value in its Intertek Energy & Infrastructure and Intertek Testing & Assurance.
“It’s potentially break-up time for testing group Intertek. The FTSE 100 company is exploring a sale or demerger of its energy and infrastructure arm. It’s a classic move by a large corporate whose sum of the parts could be worth more than the whole,” Dan Coatsworth explained.
“Intertek is involved in multiple industries where it tests whether goods are safe, compliant and reliable. This ranges from verifying the quality of crude oil shipments to checking that electrical goods aren’t going to catch fire.
“Hiving off the energy and infrastructure arm would allow Intertek to have a tighter focus on fewer industries. Having a sprawling empire might sound grand, but the modern world has taught businesses that sometimes less is more.”