London open: Stocks gain on Israel-Iran ceasefire
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Tuesday 24 Jun 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire between Israel and Iran has taken effect.
At 0825 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 8,800.88.
Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, said: "This morning, global stock markets rallied sharply and oil prices slumped as Israel and Iran both agreed to a US-backed ceasefire to end their 12-day war. The move to de-escalate the conflict came just hours after Iran fired missiles at a US base in the region, in a retaliation largely seen as symbolic and showing Iran wanted to seek an end to the war. Trump's high stakes gamble to hit Iran's nuclear sites may just have paid off. There was a bit of uncertainty over the Asian session after Trump first announced the ceasefire agreement late last night UK time as we weren't sure if it was watertight - Israel was initially silent but this morning Israel confirmed, providing a relief reflex to unfold.
"The sharpest reaction was in crude markets as they had been about the only corner of the markets to see any really stress in the lead-up to this. Brent has dived from above $80 to below $70, shedding another 5% this morning to add to yesterday's 7% decline, in a brutal move that has done a lot of technical damage which will likely take some time to recover from."
Investors were looking ahead to Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's testimony before Congress later in the day.
Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill Group said: "This year, the Fed has refrained from altering interest rates due to the inflationary effects stemming from Trump's tariffs. However, some Fed officials are diverging from Powell's hawkish stance, which has drawn criticism from Trump. Michelle Bowman of the Fed mentioned she would be open to a rate cut in July, while Governor Christopher Waller indicated he would also entertain a reduction next month.
"More Fed officials are set to speak later, including New York Fed President John Williams, who will deliver keynote remarks in New York, and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, who is scheduled to discuss monetary policy in London. Likewise, European central bankers are active, with Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey planning public appearances in London and several ECB officials making speeches."
In equity markets, BA and Iberia owner IAG, easyJet and Wizz Air all flew higher as geopolitical tensions eased and as oil prices fell back, having suffered recently amid the prospect of higher fuel costs.
Other travel-related stocks gained, with InterContinental Hotels and cruise operator Carnival also higher.
Recruiter SThree surged as it reported a drop in first-half net fees, citing an "ongoing challenging trading environment", but pointed to a modest improvement through the half and maintained its full-year profit guidance.
Distribution and services group Bunzl advanced as it said trading in the six months to the end of June had been as expected and that "actions are underway" to improve performance.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "After rocking the boat in April, Bunzl has thrown investors a lifeline with a calm, no-surprises trading update. Just a few months ago, the story was very different, as a series of issues triggered a major sell-off.
"Typically known for its stability, Bunzl's uneventful update today, while not particularly exciting on the upside, should be received relatively well. Performance is expected to improve over the second half, and fixes are underway to address pricing issues in the key North American markets. With expectations now reset, Bunzl should be able to get back to what it does best: predictable growth."
On the downside, oil giants BP and Shell and defence firms BAE Systems and Babcock lost ground, along with Harbour Energy and Ithaca Energy.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,800.88 0.49%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,300.66 0.85%
techMARK (TASX) 5,046.99 0.45%
FTSE 100 - Risers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 330.70p 7.13%
easyJet (EZJ) 539.20p 6.44%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,772.00p 4.35%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 8,506.00p 4.01%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,086.00p 3.42%
Barclays (BARC) 329.40p 3.37%
Informa (INF) 809.80p 3.16%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,747.00p 3.07%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) 1,968.00p 2.98%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,388.00p 2.93%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
BP (BP.) 363.40p -5.95%
Shell (SHEL) 2,569.00p -4.28%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,829.00p -2.71%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,415.00p -1.94%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,882.00p -1.77%
BT Group (BT.A) 188.30p -1.67%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,035.00p -1.62%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,552.00p -1.33%
Centrica (CNA) 166.35p -1.04%
SSE (SSE) 1,819.00p -0.82%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,137.00p 7.26%
Carnival (CCL) 1,633.00p 6.00%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 292.00p 3.91%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 86.60p 3.59%
IP Group (IPO) 48.15p 2.99%
Future (FUTR) 727.00p 2.83%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 4,460.00p 2.76%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 416.60p 2.76%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 250.50p 2.66%
JPMorgan Indian Investment Trust (JII) 1,090.00p 2.64%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Harbour Energy (HBR) 183.00p -12.02%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 162.50p -7.25%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,074.00p -3.07%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 2,288.00p -2.89%
Chemring Group (CHG) 542.00p -2.34%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 245.20p -2.23%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 480.40p -2.00%
Drax Group (DRX) 671.50p -1.61%
Me Group International (MEGP) 221.00p -1.56%
Energean (ENOG) 886.50p -1.39%
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