8th Apr 2026 06:53
(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 is set to pile on 300 points on Wednesday's open, after US President Donald Trump hailed a "total and complete victory" after announcing a two-week ceasefire with Iran.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 311.1 points higher, 3.0%, at 10,659.89 on Wednesday. The index of London large-caps closed down 87.50 points, 0.8%, at 10,348.79 on Tuesday.
A jump of that size would take the index back to levels last seen a month ago, shortly after the conflict kicked off.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 surged 5.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite added 2.4%, while the Hang Seng Index shot up 3.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney added 2.6%.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury narrowed markedly to 4.24% from 4.37% at the time of the London equities close. The 30-year yield eased to 4.84% from 4.95%.
Sterling surged to USD1.3434 from USD1.3248 and rose to EUR1.1491 from EUR1.1447. The euro rallied to USD1.1690 from USD1.1573, while against the yen, the dollar declined to JPY158.32 from JPY159.91.
A barrel of Brent tumbled to USD93.92 from USD110.24 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. Gold jumped to USD4,823.81 an ounce from USD4,645.77. Brent was at its lowest level since March 11, gold at its loftiest since March 19.
Trump said Tuesday he agreed to suspend bombing of Iran for two weeks as part of a ceasefire deal if Tehran completely reopens the vital Strait of Hormuz.
"Subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks," Trump posted just an hour before his deadline to start catastrophic attacks.
"This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE!" Trump wrote.
"The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East.
"We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate."
SPI Asset Management analyst Stephen Innes commented: "For now, the market has been given something it did not have 24 hours ago: breathing room."
Before the ceasefire announcement, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.2% lower in New York on Tuesday. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each edged up 0.1%. The trio are set to register sharp gains on Wednesday, according to stock market futures.
Away from the events in the Middle East, Wednesday's economic calendar has a UK construction purchasing managers' index reading at 0930 BST, before eurozone producer price data at 1000.
Wednesday's UK corporate calendar has full-year results from Aptitude Software Group and Devolver Digital.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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