Trump threatened that “a whole civilization will die tonight” as Iran showed no sign of accepting his ultimatum to open the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday evening, Washington time
International News via Reuters:
UK shares ended lower in broader-based losses on Tuesday, as investors turned risk-averse heading into U.S. President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz with no compromise in sight.
Trump threatened that “a whole civilization will die tonight” as Iran showed no sign of accepting his ultimatum to open the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday evening, Washington time.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index dropped 0.8% to 10,348.8 points at close, while the midcap FTSE 250 slid 0.4%.* Trump has given Iran until 8 p.m. in Washington (0000 GMTand 3:30 a.m. in Tehran) to end its blockade of Gulf oil. * Trading in the UK picks up on Tuesday after a long weekendbreak where markets were shut for the Good Friday and EasterMonday holidays. * The blue-chip index briefly hit an over one-month highearlier in the day, but Tuesday’s fall meant snapping a four-daywinning streak. * Aerospace and defence lagged, declining 2.6%; shares ofRolls-Royce fell 3.9%. * Travel and leisure shed 1.9% with airline stocksparticularly hit as crude oil prices climbed amid the volatilesituation in Iran. * Oil and gas was a bright spot, rising 0.8% tracking highercrude oil prices. * Heavyweight banks lost 0.8%, while pharmaceutical andbiotech shares fell 2.2%. * On the data front, a survey showed that businesses inBritain’s services sector reported the biggest month-on-monthjump in costs in March since 2021. * A U.S. inflation reading due later this week would be oninvestors’ radar for more clues on the Federal Reserve’sinterest rate path.
Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed and Matthew Lewis
