European stocks advanced on Tuesday, and the oil price slid, amid cautious optimism for de-escalation in the Middle East.
David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, said: “Despite the breakdown of peace negotiations between the US and Iran over the weekend, and the US blockade of Iranian ports which began yesterday, there’s a general feeling that an end to the war is likely to come sooner rather than later,.
The FTSE 100 closed up 26.10 points, 0.3%, at 10,609.06. The FTSE 250 ended up 447.40 points, 2.0%, at 22,724.29, and the AIM All-Share rose 8.26 points, 1.1%, to 790.57.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 1.1%, and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt rose 1.3%.
The improved market equity mood came amid hopes of fresh talks between the US and Iran to resolve the seven-week conflict.