FTSE 100 Live: Stocks to fall; oil drops to $90 but Trump warns ‘powerful’ return to war
Welcome back to the City PM FTSE 100 liveblog.
It’s Tuesday morning and the UK’s blue-chip index is set to drop into the red despite making gains on Monday.
The markets took a boost yesterday after oil dropped back after reaching two-month highs of more than $100 per barrel last week when the Iran backed-Houthis took responsibility for tanker strikes in the Red Sea.
But on Monday Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell back six per cent to $90.98 per barrel after the US said President Trump was pausing strikes on Iran while an Omani delegation leads talks to secure transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
This drop-off in oil prices boosted global markets, as the FTSE 100 closed 0.6 per cent higher. Wall Street was buoyed by falling oil prices as the US markets opened, with the Nasdaq gaining 1.1 per cent on the open while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.2 per cent in early trading.
But sliding chip stocks brought the S&P back into the red shortly after Monday’s market open, and Trump warned that the US will resume a “very powerful” military operation against Iran if talks fail.
Games Workshop, Unilever and Barclays are among London’s big hitters set to update the markets this morning. Oil majors BP and Shell look set to make further losses on Tuesday if oil continues to fall, after being among the FTSE 100’s biggest fallers on Monday.
We’ll be bringing you the latest market updates and analysis as the day develops.
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