The FTSE 100 nudged higher on Thursday morning as advances among precious metal miners helped the index counterbalance ongoing uncertainty over the Iran conflict.
The index was up 0.12% as of 07:20 GMT, with Germany’s DAX adding 0.11% while France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.21% in the same period.
Sterling edged 0.08% higher against the US dollar, reaching $1.3497 as markets digested the latest geopolitical developments from the Middle East.
The US Central Command reported it had redirected 86 commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz as part of its naval blockade of Iran, up from 84 the previous day.
US Central Command also confirmed that three vessels had been disabled and two others boarded as part of ongoing operations in the strategically critical waterway.
Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority expanded its vessel blacklist by a further 11 ships, bringing the total to 56, with additions including the tanker Kiku and LNG carrier Mubaraz.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he did not expect the renewed fighting to last “too long,” according to Reuters, which also reported that US forces were assisting oil shipments through the strait and intercepting Iranian drones.
Trump additionally proposed renaming the waterway “Trump Strait” in a Truth Social post, while Reuters cited four sources saying senior administration officials were seeking to prevent further escalation ahead of November’s congressional elections.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Iran would “continue to feel the squeeze” until it abandons nuclear weapons ambitions and ends its support for terrorism.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, visiting Cairo, called for diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict and urged Middle Eastern countries to reject foreign interference during talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
IRGC Deputy Commander Mostafa Izadi stated that the force was “fully prepared against the enemy” and would deploy missile and drone capabilities in response to hostile action, according to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.
The UAE condemned Iran’s strike on the Saudi-owned tanker Sidr near Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, which killed two Filipino crew members, along with Iranian attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
Gold futures climbed 1.3% to $4,471.01 an ounce, while spot gold rose 0.86% to $4,425.85, providing a clear tailwind for precious metal miners listed on the London exchange.
Fresnillo (LSE:FRES) shares gained 1.1% while Endeavour Mining (LSE:EDV) rose 1.4%, with both stocks benefiting directly from advances in gold and silver prices.
Oil moved in the opposite direction, with Brent crude falling 0.98% to $94.70 a barrel and WTI declining 0.90% to $90.23 as markets adjusted to evolving supply dynamics.
Jet2 (LSE:JET2) provided a positive update, reporting that summer bookings were running 8.8% higher compared with the same period a year earlier.
M&G (LSE:MNG) posted half-year profit above expectations, with inflows from Japanese partner Daiichi Life contributing to performance despite market volatility tied to the Iran conflict.
EnQuest (LSE:ENQ) narrowed its annual production guidance toward the lower end of its previous range after a five-week outage at the Magnus field caused by a third-party infrastructure disruption, though the company returned to profit for the half year.
Crest Nicholson (LSE:CRST) warned it expects an annual operating loss of approximately £10 million, citing subdued demand and competitive pricing as the primary factors weighing on sales performance.