UK stocks end week higher after Iran says Strait of Hormuz is open (updated)
17/04/2026 17:36
Updates after markets close April 17 (Reuters) - UK's main stock indexes posted weekly gains on Friday, as equities rallied after Iran's foreign minister announced that the Strait of Hormuz is open for the remaining period of ceasefire. U.S. President Donald Trump said he believed a deal to end the Iran war would come "soon". Oil prices plunged below $90 a barrel following the announcement, lifting stocks and government bonds higher. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE closed 0.7% higher at 10,667.63 points, clocking gains for a fourth straight week. The midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC climbed 1.9%, extending its winning run for three weeks. Travel & leisure stocks advanced as crude prices dropped; Wizz Air WIZZ.L, Carnival CCL.L gained above 7% and easyJet EZJ.L rose 6%. Top gainers: Fresnillo FRES.L climbed 6.4%, while British Airways owner IAG ICAG.L added 6.2%. Oil giant BP BP.L fell 7.4% and Shell SHEL.L dropped 5.6%, among top losers. Precious metal miners .FTNMX551030 rose 5% tracking bullion prices. Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill said on Friday that the central bank's main focus should be getting inflation to its 2% target. Heavyweight banks .FTNMX301010 advanced 2.3%; Barclays BARC.L climbed 3.5% , Standard Chartered STAN.L rose 2.9% and HSBC HSBA.L added 2%. The Financial Times reported on Thursday that Finance Minister Rachel Reeves vowed to cut the link between gas and electricity prices, sending the utilities sector .FTUB6510 down. National Grid NG.L dropped 1%, Severn Trent SVT.L fell marginally by 0.6%; SSE SSE.L and Centrica CNA.L dipped 6.6% and 5%, respectively. Defence stocks: BAE Systems BAES.L rose 1.8% and Rolls-Royce RR.L gained 4.8%. Workspace Group WKP.L fell 6.2% as the office-space provider said it expects a substantial step down in annual profit. (Reporting by Utkarsh Tushar Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Maju Samuel) ((utkarshtushar.hathi@thomsonreuters.com; 91-9900310515))