LONDON MARKET OPEN: Stocks rise on Iran deal hopes

Tue, 02nd Jun 2026 09:09

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Tuesday, supported by renewed optimism over diplomacy in the Middle East, though the FTSE 100 lagged continental peers.

The FTSE 100 index opened up 44.42 points, 0.4%, at 10,384.39. The FTSE 250 was up 195.24 points, 0.8%, at 23,441.47, and the AIM all-share was up 1.85 points, 0.2%, at 821.09.

The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.6% at 1,033.05, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.9% at 20,160.58, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.2% at 18,915.46.

The FTSE 100 lagged some European peers, as enthusiasm around artificial intelligence stocks boosted broader European markets, while London's benchmark, with its relative lack of large-cap technology names, underperformed.

In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 1.0%, and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was also 1.0% higher.

US President Donald Trump said a framework agreement with Iran could be reached "over the next week", according to ABC News.

The broadcaster reported that Trump told one of its correspondents in a phone interview that a memorandum of understanding to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and extend the current ceasefire could be completed and agreed within days.

"I still have to get a few more points," Trump said, according to ABC, adding that he had not yet signed off on the deal.

There has been no public confirmation from Iran that an agreement is imminent.

Trump also said Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to halt hostilities. He said he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and held a "very good call", through unnamed representatives, with the Hezbollah militant group.

According to Trump, Netanyahu agreed to cancel a planned military raid on Beirut, while Hezbollah agreed that "all shooting will stop".

His comments followed a report from Iran's Tasnim news agency that Tehran had suspended dialogue with mediators in protest at Israel's expanding offensive in Lebanon against Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Brent oil was trading at USD93.57 a barrel early Tuesday, down from USD97.22 late Monday.

The pound was quoted at USD1.3472 early Tuesday, higher than USD1.3447 at the London equities close on Monday. Against the euro, sterling was lower at EUR1.1566, from EUR1.1570.

The euro traded at USD1.1649 early Tuesday, higher than USD1.1624 late Monday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY159.71 versus JPY159.64.

Entain topped the FTSE 100, up 3.9%, followed by Fresnillo, up 3.5%, and Kingfisher, up 3.4%.

British American Tobacco was at the bottom of the blue-chip index, down 3.2%, despite saying it remains on track to deliver its full-year guidance, supported by continued growth in the US and accelerating momentum in its New Categories business.

The cigarette maker now expects New Categories revenue growth in the mid-teens for both the first half and full year of 2026, led by strong performances from its Velo oral nicotine and Vuse vapour brands. BAT continues to expect full-year revenue growth at the lower end of its 3% to 5% medium-term target range and adjusted profit from operations growth at the lower end of its 4% to 6% target.

The company said it remains on track to reduce leverage to within its 2.0x to 2.5x target range by year-end while returning GBP1.3 billion to shareholders through share buybacks in 2026.

Chief Executive Tadeu Marroco said: "In New Categories, revenue growth is accelerating and we now expect to deliver mid-teens for 2026. We continue to prioritise investment in our most profitable value pools, driving strong contribution growth."

On the FTSE 250, GB Group plunged 9.5% as it reported revenue of GBP285.0 million for the year ended March 31, up from GBP282.7 million a year earlier, while adjusted operating profit rose to GBP67.5 million from GBP67.0 million.

The Chester-based identity and location technology provider swung to a pretax loss of GBP74.5 million from a profit of GBP15.7 million, primarily due to a GBP73.1 million non-cash impairment charge.

GBG kept its final dividend unchanged at 4.4p per share and said it completed GBP45 million of share buybacks during the year, with a further GBP10 million committed.

The company expects mid-single-digit revenue growth in financial 2027, supported by improving performance in the Americas, growing demand linked to AI-driven fraud prevention and momentum from its GBG Go platform, which has secured more than 100 customer contracts since launch.

Wizz Air rose 2.8% after reporting 7.1 million passengers for May, up 26% from 5.7 million a year prior. The figure for the 12 months to the end of May was up 12% at 72.4 million compared to 64.5 million.

The airline operator said its Italian expansion continues with further aircraft allocations announced. It also noted that Tel Aviv services resumed on Thursday.

Among smaller caps, Gooch & Housego fell 11% despite reporting improved interim results.

Pretax profit for HY26 rose 16% year-on-year to GBP3.3 million from GBP2.9 million, while revenue increased 16% to GBP81.9 million from GBP70.9 million. The interim dividend was unchanged at 4.9p, and the company said full-year expectations remain unchanged.

In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo closed down 0.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended 0.4% lower, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong jumped 2.4%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.1%.

In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.1%, the S&P 500 up 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.4%.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury narrowed to 4.43% from 4.51%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury narrowed to 4.95% from 5.01%.

Gold was quoted at USD4,531.00 an ounce early Tuesday, up from USD4,472.82 on Monday.

Still to come on Tuesday's economic calendar are UK money supply data and eurozone consumer price index figures.

By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

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