UK equities traded lower on Tuesday morning as investors assessed a fragile pause in hostilities between Iran and Israel. Market sentiment remained cautious after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested negotiations were in their “final throes”, while both countries signalled that military action could resume if talks fail. Additional uncertainty emerged after reports of a U.S. military helicopter crash near the Strait of Hormuz.
The FTSE 100 fell 0.41% by 03:23 ET (07:23 GMT). Across Europe, Germany’s DAX declined 0.14%, while France’s CAC 40 managed a gain of 0.30%. Sterling strengthened modestly against the U.S. dollar, rising 0.19% to 1.3367.
Speaking to reporters at New York’s JFK Airport on Monday, Trump said Iran and Israel “were going back and forth and now they both agreed, through me, to stop,” adding that a final agreement could be reached within “two or three days.”
Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that a U.S. Army Apache helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The cause of the incident remains unknown, although Trump confirmed that both pilots were unharmed.
Separately, U.S. Central Command said it had disabled an empty oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman after the vessel allegedly breached a U.S. naval blockade by attempting to reach an Iranian port.
Iran’s military leadership announced a suspension of operations on Monday after launching around 30 ballistic missiles at Israel since Sunday evening, describing the attacks as a “painful response” in support of Lebanon. Israel agreed to halt military action following a request from Washington, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that if Iran were to “make the mistake of resuming attacks against us, we will respond with full force.”
The Israeli military issued new evacuation notices for residents of Tyre in southern Lebanon on Tuesday. Highlighting the political complexities surrounding the conflict, a senior U.S. official told Axios, “Bibi needs the war to continue to stay politically alive in Israel, and Trump needs the war to end to stay politically alive in the U.S.”
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, told the Associated Press that he hoped a final agreement would be reached “soon.” However, an Iranian official told Al Jazeera that recent U.S. amendments to a draft memorandum remained unacceptable, stating that “without the release of frozen assets and the lifting of sanctions, no deal is possible.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, the United States has dropped efforts to immediately refer Iran to the UN Security Council as part of a compromise aimed at securing European support for a joint resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors.
UK Corporate Round-Up
MJ Gleeson (LSE:GLE) warned that annual adjusted pre-tax profit is likely to fall below current market expectations after delays to a major land sale, which represents roughly half of its anticipated plot sales for the current financial year.
Fellow housebuilder Bellway (LSE:BWY) reported softer customer demand after a strong start to the spring selling season, while rising fuel and energy costs continue to place pressure on profitability.
GSK (LSE:GSK) announced an agreement to acquire U.S.-listed oncology specialist Nuvalent in a $10.6 billion all-cash transaction. The offer values Nuvalent at $124 per share, representing a 40% premium to the company’s previous closing price, and is intended to strengthen GSK’s position in lung cancer treatments.
Meanwhile, investors in BP (LSE:BP.) remain unclear about the circumstances surrounding the departure of former chairman Albert Manifold in May, according to a report by the Financial Times.
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