REPEAT: FTSE 100 opens in red as US-Iran ceasefire wavers

Tue, 05th May 2026 09:16

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened mixed on Tuesday, after tensions sharply rose between the US and Iran, keeping oil prices elevated.

The two countries traded fire, and the United Arab Emirates reported a strike on an energy installation, AFP reports, after US President Donald Trump announced a mission called "Project Freedom" to guide ships from neutral countries out of the Gulf, saying it was a humanitarian effort to help stranded crews.

A senior Iranian military official did not deny the UAE strikes but said: "What happened was the product of the US military's adventurism to create a passage for ships to illegally pass through" the Strait of Hormuz, according to state television.

The FTSE 100 index opened down 108.76 points, 1.1%, at 10,255.17, and the FTSE 250 was down 14.43 points, 0.1%, at 22,517.18, but the AIM all-share was up 3.30 points, 0.4%, at 799.96.

The Cboe UK 100 was down 1.3% at 1,020.58, but the Cboe UK 250 was up 1.11 points at 19,589.16, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.1% at 18,186.62.

"Geopolitical jitters returned yesterday, as the new trading week got underway in rather fragile fashion...That said, kinetic action between the US and Iran has not resumed, as of the time of writing, and talks between those two parties have continued, with proposals going back and forth between mediators, albeit with no concrete agreement yet having been reached," Pepperstone Senior Research Strategist Michael Brown commented.

Intertek led the FTSE 100, up 7.1%, after receiving an increased indicative proposal for a potential takeover from EQT Fund Management.

EQT's new bid for the London-based assurance, inspection, product testing and certification company is GBP58.00 per share, 7.4% higher than an offer for GBP54.00 per share that Intertek had rejected in April.

Oil majors Shell and BP gained 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively. Brent oil was quoted higher at USD113.11 a barrel early in London on Tuesday from USD108.86 late on Friday.

International Consolidated Airlines was down 1.2%. FTSE 250-listed budget carrier Wizz Air fell 2.9%, despite reporting a 22% on-year rise in passenger traffic to 6.6 million in April. Capacity increased 23% to 7.5 million from 6.1 million seats. Meanwhile, in Dublin, fellow carrier Ryanair lost 1.5%. Its passenger traffic for April rose 5% to 19.3 million in April.

Back on the FTSE 250, AEP Plantations was the highest constituent, up 6.0%, after announcing a subsidiary's acquisition of approximately 98.3% of Indonesian agribusiness PT Pinago Utama Tbk.

AEP says the acquisition has expanded its planted oil palm area by approximately 23%, and increased its crude palm oil production by approximately 25%.

In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 1.2%.

The pound was quoted lower at USD1.3538 early Tuesday, compared to USD1.3626 on Monday. Against the euro, sterling softened slightly to EUR1.1575 from EUR1.1578 a day prior. The euro stood at USD1.1690, lower against USD1.1765. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JPY157.21 compared to JPY156.74.

In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was closed for Children's Day. In China, the Shanghai Composite was closed for Labor Day, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.8%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.2%.

In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 557.37 points, 1.1%, the S&P 500 down 29.37 points, 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite down 46.64 points, 0.2%.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.43%, widening from 4.38%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 5.01%, widening from 4.97%.

Gold was quoted lower at USD4,551.03 an ounce against USD4,637.78.

Still to come on Tuesday's economic calendar, Canada and the US have trade balance and composite PMI releases. The US also has ISM services PMI, new home sales and building permits data.

By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

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