UK stocks saw a slight increase on Monday as global risk sentiment improved following a preliminary peace agreement between the United States and Iran, which contributed to a decline in oil prices. Brent Crude prices experienced a decline of nearly 5% following announcements from officials in Washington and Tehran regarding an agreement to resolve the three-month-long conflict. This resolution is set to include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil shipping route.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.10% to 10,481.76 points by 10:48 AM, while the midcap FTSE 250 climbed 0.57%.

• Precious metal miners opened a new tab with a 6.9% increase, reflecting ongoing gains in gold and silver prices.
• Fresnillo opened a new tab and Hochschild climbed 10.1% and 7.8%, respectively.
• Homebuilders rose 2.2%, with Persimmon gaining 3% and Bellway increasing by 2.6%, respectively.
• Lower oil prices lifted travel & leisure stocks by 1.6%, with Wizz Air climbing the most at 5.6%.
• Oil giants BP and Shell declined 3.4% and 4.3%, respectively, tracking crude prices.
• The Bank of England is anticipated to maintain the interest rate on Thursday, after a 25 bps hike from the European Central Bank last week.
• Bunzl opens new tab rose 1.4% following a report that activist investor Elliott has taken an almost 5% stake in the supplies distributor.
• Among mid-caps, Frasers Group declined 2% after the sporting goods retailer launched a buyout offer for Australia’s Accent Group.
• Chipmaker IQE experienced a notable increase of 20.9% following the announcement of a partnership with Tower Semiconductor for an optical connectivity solution.