7th Apr 2026 12:10
(Alliance News) - Stocks in Europe achieved a solid gain on Tuesday following the Easter break, despite continued geopolitical nerves, with a peace deadline imposed by Donald Trump on Iran now just hours away.
The FTSE 100 index climbed 14.92 points, 0.1%, at 10,451.21. The FTSE 250 was up 149.48 points, 0.7%, at 21,791.78, and the AIM all-share was up 9.27 points, 1.3%, at 743.88.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 1,040.06, the Cboe UK 250 added 0.7% at 18,924.47, and the Cboe small companies added 0.6% at 17,262.83.
The CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.8%, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 added 0.4%.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury widened to 4.34% on Tuesday afternoon UK time from 4.30% at the time of the London equities close on Thursday. The 30-year yield was at 4.90%, stretching from 4.89%.
Late Monday, the yield on the 10-year was 4.34% and the 30-year was also 4.89%.
Gold fell to USD4,663.37 an ounce early Tuesday afternoon, flat from USD4,663.40 on Thursday and up from USD4,658.56 late on Monday.
A barrel of Brent surged to USD110.14 on Tuesday from USD106.75 on Thursday. Late Monday, it fetched USD109.50. West Texas Intermediate benchmark is now trading higher than the North Sea benchmark, at USD113.81 a barrel.
"Markets were steady with investors largely non-committal as they await the apparent cliff-edge deadline imposed by the Trump administration," AJ Bell analyst Dan Coatsworth commented. "President Trump's threats of widespread strikes on Iran if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by the early hours of tomorrow morning UK time, if taken at face value, create the conditions for a binary set of outcomes."
"Either there is a climbdown on the part of Washington or Tehran, which could prompt a major rally in equities and easing of energy prices, or a major escalation with all the implications that might have for financial markets. An alternative scenario is that the deadline is extended, and the markets face another uneasy period of trying to gauge the latest mood music in the US and Iran."
Oil majors supported the FTSE 100, with Shell adding 0.6% and BP rising 1.2%. But aerospace firms struggled, as Rolls-Royce fell 2.5% and BAE Systems gave back 1.4%.
Sterling bought USD1.3247 early Tuesday afternoon, up from USD1.3238 at the time of the London equities close on Thursday and rising from USD1.3233 late Monday. Against the euro, the pound traded at EUR1.1466, up from EUR1.1463 on Thursday and barely budging from EUR1.1467 late Monday.
The euro climbed to USD1.1555 on Monday from USD1.1548 at the London equities close Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar shot up to JPY159.70 from JPY159.31. Late Monday, the single currency traded at USD1.1540 and the dollar bought JPY159.73.
Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony commented: "This week's economic calendar undoubtedly focused firmly on Friday's US CPI release, with the monthly metric expected to rise 1% for the month of March. Clear evidence that the Iran conflict has already started to push prices higher even in a country that is largely self-sufficient when it comes to energy."
The US labour market grew by more than expected last month, numbers on Friday showed, recovering after jobs were shed in February.
According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonfarm payrolls increased by 178,000 in March, beating the FXStreet cited forecast of 60,000 jobs additions by some margin.
"Job gains occurred in health care, in construction, and in transportation and warehousing. Federal government employment continued to decline," the BLS said.
In February, 133,000 jobs were shed, in a reading that was downwardly revised from an initially reported 92,000 decline in nonfarm payrolls.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are called to open 0.1% higher.
Back in London, Volex rose 2.4%. It launched a GBP40 million share buyback programme and confirmed it plans to move to the London Main Market from AIM.
The Hampshire, England-based maker of power and data transmission products said it intends to apply for the move, after it said it was considering it last month.
It is targeting admission before August 4, meaning it would meet the 20-day minimum trading requirement to be eligible for inclusion in the following FTSE Russell index review.
With a market capitalisation of GBP915.8 million, it would be a contender for FTSE 250 entry.
Elsewhere, Ninety One slumped 9.3% after Bank of America cut the stock to 'neutral'.
Haydale advanced 6.4%. The firm's SaveMoneyCutCarbon offering penned a framework and exclusivity arrangement with Wave Utilities, a water retailer serving 300,000 business customers.
"As part of this agreement, SMCC has been appointed as Wave's exclusive external delivery partner for water efficiency audits and has secured right of first refusal on the delivery of funded water efficiency projects, embedding SMCC within Wave's national rollout," Haydale added.
"The agreement is expected to generate at least GBP1.0 million of recurring programme-based revenue annually, with a broader pipeline of identified opportunities currently valued at approximately GBP5.7 million over the medium term."
Still to come on Tuesday is a US durable goods orders reading at 1330 BST.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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