London close: Stocks end up on Middle East resolution hopes

(Sharecast News) - London stocks ended higher on Tuesday amid hopes of a de-escalation in the Middle East conflict, with miners underpinning the gains as investors mulled the latest UK GDP.

The FTSE 100 closed up 0.5% at 10,176.45. Brent crude was 5.5% higher at $118.99 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was up 1.6% at $104.52.

Sentiment was lifted by a Wall Street Journal report suggesting that Donald Trump told aides he was willing to end the military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed.

The WSJ, citing administration officials, said that in recent days, the US president and his aides assessed that a mission to pry open the chokepoint would push the conflict beyond his timeline of four to six weeks.

The WSJ said Trump decided the US should achieve its main goals of hobbling Iran's navy and its missile stocks and wind down current hostilities while pressuring Tehran diplomatically to resume the free flow of trade. If that fails, Washington would press allies in Europe and the Gulf to take the lead on reopening the strait, officials told the WSJ.

Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said: "Markets are once again rallying on hopes the Iran conflict will be brought to a close in the near future.

"The move higher has echoes of the start of last week when comments from President Trump that a resolution to the war was imminent prompted an even more dramatic reversal in fortunes for global equities.

"Stocks forged ahead despite Brent crude oil prices remaining elevated firmly above $100 per barrel. This is a level which implies energy traders are pricing in prolonged disruption to the Strait of Hormuz. Brent is well on track for a record monthly performance, with its 60% advance a lot for the global economy to absorb in such a small space of time.

"This impressive show of resilience from stock markets suggests investors are taking a 'glass half full' approach and are also fearful of missing out on any upswing should a genuine resolution to the crisis emerge.

"In London, mining stocks helped do the heavy lifting for the FTSE 100 and there was strength for industrial names, some financials and pockets of the retail sector too."

On home shores, figures from the Office for National Statistics confirmed the economy grew by 0.1% in the last three months of 2025, in line with consensus.

While production saw a 1.2% increase in output, the construction sector had a particularly weak quarter, with output decreasing 2.0%. The normally dominant services sector also struggled, showing no growth over the fourth quarter.

The 0.1% rate was unchanged on the third quarter's growth.

Over the year, GDP is estimated to have grown by 1.4%, revised upwards from the ONS's earlier estimate of 1.3%.

The latest house price index from Nationwide was also in focus, as it showed house prices picked up in March as the market regained momentum following a sluggish end to 2025.

In equity markets, heavily-weighted miners were among the top gainers as metals prices rose, with Antofagasta, Anglo American and Rio Tinto all higher.

Precious metals miner Fresnillo and gold miner Hochschild also shone as gold prices recovered.

Lloyds and Close Brothers ended firmly in the black after the Financial Conduct Authority's final compensation ruling on the motor financing mis-selling scandal. The watchdog said that 12.1m agreements made between 2007 and 2024 are now eligible for compensation. This is down from 14.2m announced in October, but the average payout has increased from �695 to �830.

The FCA estimated that 75% of eligible consumers will make a claim, which would take the total redress paid to �7.5bn.

Both Lloyds and Close Brothers issued statements saying they were still assessing the implications of the ruling.

Raspberry Pi rocked as it posted a higher-than-expected jump in annual earnings and sales, boosted by strong demand for its single board computers and favourable unit economics during the second half of the year.

Danni Hewson said: "Today's numbers were a lot better than the market expected. The company is now selling more of its products to industrial customers, who are stickier and more reliable than hobbyists.

"It has managed to keep a lid on costs and AI looks like it is assisting rather than disrupting the business. Better yet, sales momentum has continued into early 2026 and while supply chain issues do cloud the picture a little for the remainder of the year, revenue is still anticipated to be meaningfully higher.

"While shareholders will be thrilled with the substantial surge in the share price today, there is likely to be some hope that Raspberry Pi can now be a more consistent performer after experiencing wildly fluctuating fortunes in its life to date as a public company."

Ashmore surged it said Japan Post Insurance will invest $1bn into a range of the company's managed emerging market funds, in addition to its assets currently under management by the firm.

AG Barr fizzed higher as the Irn-Bru maker reported a 12.5% rise in full-year adjusted pre-tax profit as revenue was boosted by a solid performance from its core brands.

On the downside, Unilever tumbled after agreeing to merge its food business with US spice maker McCormick in a $44.8bn deal.

Future shares tanked after the media group downgraded its margin outlook, citing shifts in the audience derived from Google search.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,176.45 0.48%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,203.71 1.19%

techMARK (TASX) 5,622.09 0.51%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,327.00p 5.25%

3i Group (III) 2,438.00p 4.41%

Fresnillo (FRES) 3,304.00p 4.10%

Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 33.40p 4.05%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 70.66p 3.76%

BAE Systems (BA.) 2,200.00p 3.19%

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,864.00p 3.05%

Anglo American (AAL) 3,179.00p 2.78%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,944.00p 2.54%

Autotrader Group (AUTO) 469.50p 2.49%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Unilever (ULVR) 4,199.00p -7.28%

IMI (IMI) 2,530.00p -2.39%

Croda International (CRDA) 2,815.00p -1.85%

Diageo (DGE) 1,396.00p -1.62%

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 6,870.00p -1.58%

Convatec Group (CTEC) 215.40p -1.37%

Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,057.00p -1.29%

Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,185.00p -1.29%

Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,436.00p -1.15%

Games Workshop Group (GAW) 17,700.00p -1.01%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 429.80p 47.09%

Ashmore Group (ASHM) 211.40p 6.71%

Oakley Capital Investments Limited (DI) (OCI) 468.00p 5.88%

Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 652.00p 5.67%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 597.00p 5.57%

Trainline (TRN) 227.00p 5.29%

Close Brothers Group (CBG) 400.60p 4.98%

The Schiehallion Fund Limited NPV (MNTN) 1.80p 4.80%

Currys (CURY) 124.30p 4.72%

Discoverie Group (DSCV) 538.00p 4.67%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 558.00p -3.21%

Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 88.50p -2.96%

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 36.30p -2.68%

Inchcape (INCH) 750.00p -2.28%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 849.50p -1.91%

Kier Group (KIE) 190.60p -1.85%

Genus (GNS) 2,370.00p -1.66%

Hays (HAS) 33.32p -1.24%

Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 584.00p -1.18%

Big Yellow Group (BYG) 845.00p -1.17%