BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The UK stock market gained in strength on Wednesday, as a sharp drop in oil prices, and hopes of a U.S.-Iran peace deal helped lift sentiment. Stocks from mining and financial sectors posted strong gains.
Hopes about a U.S.-Iran deal rose after U.S. President Donald Trump said the two countries were 'in negotiations right now' and 'want to make a deal so badly.'
The U.S. has reportedly proposed a 15-point peace plan to Tehran after a possible one-month ceasefire. Although Tehran has dismissed Trump's claim of talks, several media reports suggest that efforts towards a diplomatic solution have intensified.
As hopes of a de-escalation in Middle East tensions rose, oil prices tumbled, with the Brent crude futures falling nearly 6%.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 135.69 points or 1.36% at 10,100.85 a little before noon.
Miners Endeavour Mining, Anglo American Plc and Antofagasta moved up 4.7% and 3.7% and 3.6%, respectively. Fresnillo climbed 3.5% and Rio Tinto gained 18%, while Glencore added 1.5%.
Baclays moved up 3.3%, Standard Chartered gained 3.1%, Lloyds Banking Group climbed 2.7%, HSBC Holdings rallied 2.5% and Natwest advanced 1.5%.
ICG surged more than 4.5%. Croda International moved up 4.4% and Barratt Redrow gained 3.9%. United Utilities climbed nearly 4%. The water utility issued a pre-close update ahead of its full-year results for the year ending March 31, 2026, indicating that performance remains in line with expectations.
Pershing Square Holdings, JD Sports Fashion, GSK, Lion Finance, M&G, Prudential, Smiths Group, Mondi, IMI, Standard Life, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Scottish Mortgage, Weir Group, Land Securities and Halma gained 2.5%-3.4%. IAG and Aviva also moved up sharply.
Among the laggards, BT Group shed 1.7%, Experian lost about 1.2% and Shell dropped nearly 1%.
Data from the Office for National Statistics showed UK consumer prices registered a stable growth and input prices rebounded in February.
Consumer price inflation remained unchanged at 3% in February, as expected. On a monthly basis, consumer prices moved up 0.4%, partially offsetting the January's 0.5% decrease. Monthly inflation matched expectations.
Core inflation that excludes prices of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco rose to 3.2% from 3.1% in the prior month.
Another report from the ONS showed that input prices climbed 0.5% year-on-year in February, in contrast to the 0.4% fall in January. On a monthly comparison, input prices rose at a faster pace of 0.8%, following a 0.3% in January.
Meanwhile, output price inflation eased to 1.7% from 2.5% in January. Month-on-month, output prices slid 0.5% remaining flat in January.
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