7th Apr 2026 08:48
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in Europe opened mixed on Tuesday, with another surge in the oil price grabbing the spotlight as a peace deadline imposed by US President Donald Trump on Iran edges closer.
The FTSE 100 index opened up just 4.00 points at 10,440.29. The FTSE 250 was up 50.36 points, 0.2%, at 21,692.66, and the AIM all-share was up 4.83 points, 0.7%, at 739.44.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 1,039.33, the Cboe UK 250 added 0.2% at 18,830.53, and the Cboe small companies edged up 0.1% at 17,161.77.
The CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.4%, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 shed 0.1%.
In the US on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 each rose 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.5%.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury widened to 4.35% on Tuesday morning UK time from 4.30% at the time of the London equities close on Thursday. The 30-year yield was at 4.91%, 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 USD4,652.17 an ounce early Tuesday, from USD4,663.40 on Thursday and USD4,658.56 late on Monday.
A barrel of Brent surged to USD111.24 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 USD114.82 a barrel.
Analysts at Panmure Liberum commented: "Demand for WTI has surged as competition between Asian and European refiners for crude supplies heats up to replace supplies lost to the conflict."
BP shares rose 1.1%, among the best performers on the FTSE 100. Gold miner Endeavour Mining lost 1.2%.
US President Donald Trump said Monday that the military had war plans to destroy all bridges and power plants in Iran over a four-hour period if his peace deal deadline is not met.
"We have a plan - because of the power of our military - where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again," Trump said at a press conference. "I mean complete demolition by 12 o'clock (midnight), and it'll happen over a period of four hours - if we wanted to."
Trump previously set 8:00 pm Washington time on Tuesday (midnight GMT) for Iran to agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Sterling bought USD1.3237 early Tuesday, flat from USD1.3238 at the time of the London equities close on Thursday and up from USD1.3233 late Monday. Against the euro, the pound traded at EUR1.1468, up from EUR1.1463 on Thursday and EUR1.1467 late Monday.
The euro faded to USD1.1543 on Monday from USD1.1548 at the London equities close Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar shot up to JPY159.86 from JPY159.31. Late Monday, the single currency traded at USD1.1540 and the dollar bought JPY159.73.
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.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank commented: "We expect that the latest data, particularly the decline in the unemployment rate to 4.26%, will reinforce the notion that the Fed is in wait-and-see mode and that risks to the two sides of the dual mandate have come into much closer balance – if they aren't already balanced."
US service sector growth slowed in March, while price pressure picked up, according to a survey on Monday.
The Institute for Supply Management's services purchasing managers' index declined to 54 points in March, from February's 56.1. Moving closer to the 50 point no change mark, the data suggested growth in the sector eased.
It was the 21st successive month the PMI has been in expansion territory, but it hit its lowest level since September.
"Thirteen industries reported growth in March, one fewer than in February, and the number reporting contraction remained at three," ISM said.
The prices index shot up to 70.7 in March, from February's 63 tally. It was the highest reading since October 2022.
Rabobank analysts commented: "The US ISM services index struck a stagflationary tone overnight."
In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo ended flat. In China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 0.7%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney added 1.7%.
Tuesday's global economic calendar has a slew of composite PMI readings including the UK at 0930 BST. In the US, durable goods orders data is due and a consumer inflation expectations report.
Back in London, Ninety One shares slumped 6.3%. Bank of America cut the stock to 'neutral' from 'buy'.
On AIM, MedPal AI shot up 16%. The digital health company hailed a record March, which saw 41,600 prescription items dispensed, up 28% from February for its best month of volumes.
"Pharmacy operations now exceed GBP5 million in annualised turnover based on March 2026 dispensing volumes," it said, adding that the gross margin topped 34% last month.
"The board remains highly confident in the company's growth trajectory and the significant market opportunity ahead," it added.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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