Market Overview

The FTSE 100 was last down 0.32% at 08:55 ET (12:55 GMT), extending an earlier decline as the standoff between the United States and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz intensified risk‑off sentiment. Germany’s DAX fell 0.67% and France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.48% in the same session, while the GBP/USD pair gained 0.25% to 1.3640.

Sector Impact

Mining stocks bore the brunt of the sell‑off: Anglo American plc slipped 3.5%, Antofagasta plc fell 3.2% and Rio Tinto plc declined 1.7%. Retailer JD Sports Fashion plc led the FTSE 100 fallers with a 15.4% drop. Recruitment firm Hays plc announced a 65% reduction in its full‑year dividend and plans to exit seven markets as weak hiring demand depresses permanent recruitment fees.

Commodity and Currency Movements

Brent crude rose 2.4% to $93.83 a barrel and WTI crude increased 2.8% to $86.82, reflecting heightened geopolitical risk. Gold prices slipped, with December futures down 0.40% to $4,527.11 and spot gold falling 1.1% to $4,472.65 an ounce. The gold spot price against the US dollar was reported at –1.08%.

Geopolitical Developments

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned it would deploy “more precise, more destructive” weapons if fighting with the United States resumed, and IRGC spokesman Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohebi said Iran had continued upgrading missile systems, including warheads, accuracy and range. The IRGC also warned Saudi Arabia would be unable to contain Yemen’s Houthis, who have intensified attacks on the kingdom.

U.S. officials, cited by Axios, confirmed that Washington has been running a nighttime shipping corridor through Hormuz for several weeks, moving roughly 10 million barrels per day—about half of pre‑conflict volumes—via convoys along the Omani coast under U.S. air cover after a two‑week campaign degrading Iranian radar.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Mauritania’s foreign minister that Islamic states should deepen cooperation through the OIC to “counter the Zionist regime’s plots,” according to Iran’s Mehr News Agency.

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters he was unhappy that South Korea declined to help secure Hormuz despite sourcing 60% of its oil there, and he confirmed an expected meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, stating Kim “likes me” unlike his predecessors. Trump announced what he called the “most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country,” warning that countries assisting Iran’s financial institutions, banks, airports or shipping registries would face “tremendous economic consequences,” dubbing the campaign “economic d‑day.”

Araghchi responded on the social‑media platform X, calling the U.S. announcement a diversion from America’s own “unprecedented debt & surging interest costs” and accusing Washington of “economic terrorism” that threatens the global economy and sovereignty.

US Treasury Action and Market Reaction

The U.S. Treasury announced it would at least double its buy‑back operations at the long end of the curve, setting a minimum of $4 billion per operation in the 10‑20‑year and 20‑30‑year sectors, up from $2 billion previously. Jefferies strategist Mohit Kumar said the move signaled the Treasury’s awareness of long‑end yields and helped push 10‑year U.S. Treasury yields 6 basis points lower, while also lifting gold and cryptocurrency prices on a weaker dollar. Kumar noted that Jefferies remained “long gold” and continued to see value over the medium term, adding that Wednesday’s FOMC minutes were “less hawkish than feared,” with most members seeing inflation moderating through the rest of the year.

Additional Market Data

Copper’s supply squeeze eased as London Metal Exchange inventories rose and the cash‑to‑three‑month backwardation narrowed, according to ING, suggesting the equity declines reflected broader risk‑off sentiment rather than a deterioration in metal fundamentals.

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