London equities managed modest gains on Monday as rising oil prices lifted energy stocks, helping the market absorb fresh geopolitical shock from renewed U.S. military action against Iran.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.07%, bucking a broader European trend that saw Germany’s DAX fall 0.16% and France’s CAC 40 slip 0.20%.
Sterling also came under pressure, with GBP/USD declining 0.16% to trade at 1.3386 by 03:25 ET, reflecting wider investor nervousness about the escalating conflict.
Crude prices climbed sharply after U.S. Central Command confirmed another series of strikes against Iranian targets on Sunday, designed to further reduce Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, U.S. President Donald Trump described the strait as operational, saying “It’s open,” before adding, “We bombed the hell out of them last night.”
Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority offered a contrasting assessment, stating the strait remained closed pending a security review and that shipping would only resume once “stability and calm are restored.”
The latest strikes followed Saturday’s operation, in which CENTCOM said approximately 140 Iranian military targets were hit, bringing the total to more than 300 targets across three consecutive nights following an alleged attack on the Cyprus-flagged container vessel M/V GFS Galaxy.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X on 11 July that “Iran has so far kept its word, unlike the so-called U.S. Treasury Secretary who is violating Para 9 of the MoU,” adding that “there can only be mutual compliance.”
CBS News reported that Iranian officials had privately told advisers to President Trump the shipping attack was carried out by a rogue faction and was not intended to derail negotiations, with talks involving Vice President JD Vance, Jared Kushner, and Steve Witkoff continuing in Oman over the weekend.
Brent crude climbed 3.8% to $78.86 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained 3.7% to $74.06 as traders priced in potential supply disruptions across the Gulf region.
Gold moved lower despite the heightened geopolitical tension, with gold futures falling 1.2% to $4,065.02 an ounce and spot gold declining 1.6% to $4,056.82.
Among UK-listed companies, PageGroup (LSE:PAGE) reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter gross profit, with growth across the Americas and Asia-Pacific helping offset weaker conditions in Europe and the UK.
ME Group International (LSE:MEGP) reaffirmed its full-year profit guidance after reporting improved trading following an April slowdown linked to weaker consumer confidence in France.
Plus500 (LSE:PLUS) also maintained its full-year outlook after delivering what it described as its strongest first-half revenue performance in three years, supported by increased customer trading activity and continued U.S. market expansion.
The contrasting performances across UK equities illustrated how domestic corporate resilience is offering some insulation against broader macro pressures driven by events in the Middle East.