Oil falling back and markets recovering after Iran announces ‘end of military operations’ against Israel
A sense of calm is returning to markets, as news breaks that Tehran has announced that end of its military operations against Israel.
Iranian military’s joint command says it is halting its offensive operations after Israel and Iran had exchanged fire, Associated Press report, after Trump asked both sides to “immediately stop shooting”.
The oil price is rapidly dropping back from its earlier highs – Brent crude is now up just 1.75% at $94.58 a barrel, having hit $98 earlier today.
European stock markets are shaking off their earlier losses too – with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index now slightly higher.
Government bond prices are recovering too, which is pulling down the yield (or interest rate) on UK, US and eurozone debt.
Share
Updated at 07.49 EDT
Key events
Closing post
After a choppy day’s trading, London’s stock market has closed very slightly higher.
The FTSE 100 share index ended the day up 5 points, or 0.05%, at 10,373 points.
But housebuilders’ shares fell, on concerns that the Middle East conflict will continue to push up borrowing costs.
City traders took some solace from the rally on Wall Street today, where the S&P 500 index is up 0.8%. That’s lifting hopes that Friday’s sell-off wasn’t the start of a wider market downturn.
But after South Korea’s KOSPI index slumped by 8% today, tech valuations could still be on shaky ground.
Oil is up about 1.5% today, at $94.56 a barrel, having jumped 5% this morning following the latest attacks between Israel and Iran, before the sides de-escalated.
That’s all for today – here’s our story on the markets:
And here’s our Middle East liveblog:
Share
Mike Bell, head of market strategy at RBC BlueBay, also argues that stock bargain-hunting has lifted the markets today.
He explains, via the FT:
double quotation mark“Investors have been conditioned over the last 15 years to buy the dip, and there was certainly a big dip in some stocks on Friday.”
Share
US households have grown more worried over their financial situation, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey.
The poll found that the share of Americans who believe things are much worse than they were 12 months ago has hit a nearly four-year high
CNBC has more details:
double quotation markThe share of those seeing their current situation as “much worse” than a year ago leaped to 13.3%, up about 2.7 percentage points from April and the highest since July 2022. The total of those seeing either a much or somewhat worse situation from a year ago stood at 43.7%, which the New York Fed said was the highest since January 2023.
Share
The jump on Wall Street today shows some investors have been eager to ‘buy the dip’.
Joe Mazzola, head trading & derivatives strategist at Charles Schwab, explains:
double quotation mark“Stocks scrambled higher early today, seeing some “buy the dip” action after the chip sector’s 10% plunge made Friday Wall Street’s worst day of the year. The weekend didn’t exactly calm matters, featuring new flare-ups in the Middle East, while inflation data due later this week could reinforce ideas that expensive crude is spilling into the broader economy.”
Share
FCA takes legal action against Neil Woodford
Britain’s financial regulator has announced it has started civil proceedings against fund manager Neil Woodford.
The FCA is accusing Woodford of providing “regulated investment advice and making financial promotions” through the subscription-based platform, www.w4pz.com, without authorisation.
The regulator argues that this activity breaches sections 19 and 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
The FCA is seeking an injunction against Mr Woodford and his W4.0 service – which is registered in the United Arab Emirates – to stop them carrying on the “potentially unlawful activities”.
In August 2025 the FCA banned Woodford from holding senior manager roles and managing funds for retail investors, and fined him £5.89m, over the collapse of his popular equity fund.
If you visit W4.0, the website says:
double quotation markWe exist to explain active investment strategies — with full transparency — so you can see what’s inside, why it’s there, and the thinking behind it.
We are not regulated by the FCA or any other regulatory body, and we do not provide financial advice.
Share
European stocks markets are looking brighter than this morning too.
Italy’s FTSE Mib is now up 0.7%, while France’s CAC index is flat.
Share
US tech stocks rebound
Technology stocks are leading the risers on Wall Street, after Friday’s rout.
Chip stocks are hot. Intel are leading the S&P 500 risers, up 9.6%, followed by Micron (+8.4%), while AMD have gained 4%.
Share
US stock market opens higher
Wall Street has opened higher, as the US stock market recovers from its worst day in months.
The news that Iran and Israel say they have halted attacks on each other, after both nations earlier traded attacks, has calmed nerves on the New York stock exchange.
The S&P 500 share index is up 0.95% in early trading – on Friday it dropped by 2.64%, its worst day since October.
The Nasdaq has jumped by 1.5%, having slumped by 4.2% on Friday.
Share
Updated at 09.47 EDT
Nationwide CEO’s pay packet almost doubles to £4.7m
Kalyeena Makortoff
Nationwide has nearly doubled its CEO Debbie Crosbie’s pay packet to £4.7m, a year after the building society pushed through a controversial bonus scheme.
The mutual, which is owned by its members, released its annual report today, showing Crosbie was handed £3.2m in bonuses, up from £1.1m a year earlier.
It pushed her overall pay to £4.67m, marking a 87% jump on the £2.49m she earned the previous year.
Meanwhile, eligible staff within the wider 26,890-strong workforce will see their pay rise an average of 3.8% from 1 July.
Commenting on the staff pay bump, Nationwide board member and remuneration committee chair Tracey Graham said:
double quotation mark“These changes reflect a significant investment in our people, recognising the contribution and commitment of those at the heart of serving our customers and delivering our strategy.”
Crosbie’s bonus hikes follows an overhaul of Nationwide’s bonus scheme, allowing Crosbie to earn up to £7m – up 43% from previous max payout levels – following the takeover of Virgin Money.
The lender controversially failed to give members a binding vote on the matter, with their votes having only been considered on an ‘advisory’ basis.
Crosbie’s latest pay package also included a salary worth £1.2m (which was hiked another 2.9% in April), topped up by a £193,000 pension and £50,000 worth of taxable benefits like business travel, medical insurance, a car allowance and personal security.
Nationwide is now asking its members to vote in favour of the pay report at its 13 July AGM, where they will also be asked to weigh in on letting a fellow member into the board room for the first time in 25 years.
Share
Updated at 09.28 EDT
Analyst: Tech’s record pullback is just a ‘healthy reset’ for the bull market
Last Friday’s tech stock sell-off was necessary blowing off of steam in a bull market that required cooling, according to Morgan Stanley strategists.
Marketwatch has the details:
double quotation markFriday’s selloff was led by semiconductor and memory stocks, where very strong gains for the year were made vulnerable by crowded investor positioning and the dynamics of levered exchange-traded funds, says [Morgan Stanley’s Mike] Wilson.
Wilson highlights the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index, which fell 10% on Friday, its biggest one-day drop since 2020.
But “the starting point matters,” he says. “The index had risen 96% year to date into the middle of last week and was around 35% above its 50-day moving average, the widest gap in around 25 years. It also had a 9-day relative strength index of 83, underscoring how extended the move had become.”
Share
Wall Street is set to open higher in an hour and a quarter’s time.
The Nasdaq futures contract is up 1.25%, while the S&P 500 is on track to gain around 0.66%.
Share
Oil falling back and markets recovering after Iran announces ‘end of military operations’ against Israel
A sense of calm is returning to markets, as news breaks that Tehran has announced that end of its military operations against Israel.
Iranian military’s joint command says it is halting its offensive operations after Israel and Iran had exchanged fire, Associated Press report, after Trump asked both sides to “immediately stop shooting”.
The oil price is rapidly dropping back from its earlier highs – Brent crude is now up just 1.75% at $94.58 a barrel, having hit $98 earlier today.
European stock markets are shaking off their earlier losses too – with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index now slightly higher.
Government bond prices are recovering too, which is pulling down the yield (or interest rate) on UK, US and eurozone debt.
Share
Updated at 07.49 EDT
After a weak start, the UK’s FTSE 100 share index has now pushed into positive territory.
The ‘Footsie’ is up 22 points, or 0.2%, at 10,390 points.
Traders may be reassured that Donald Trump has demanded Israel and Iran both “immediately stop shooting”:
Weapons maker BAE Systems is among the top risers, though, up 1.45%…
Share
The GMB union’s annual congress in Blackpool has heard that driverless taxis could cost 300,000 drivers their jobs.
The congress agreed to call on the Government to introduce laws to protect taxi and private hire drivers from job losses and reductions in earnings caused by the rollout of driverless vehicles.
Ali Haydor, private hire driver and GMB Congress delegate told the event:
double quotation mark“We hear a lot from those on the right of politics about people not working and relying on benefits, but replacing human workers will potentially push thousands into unemployment and poverty.
“The gig economy firms present driverless taxis as progress – they tell us this technology will increase efficiency, reduce costs and benefit society, but progress for whom?
“Technology will continue to develop, but workers should not be expected to carry all the risks while companies take all the rewards.”
Last month, ministers began inviting bids from operators to run autonomous taxis, buses and private-hire cars in the UK.
Update: UK company Wayve is planning to offer its driverless vehicles to paying passengers in the capital “in the next couple of months” – The Times have more detaile here.
Share
Updated at 07.23 EDT
Battle over world’s oldest bank
Kalyeena Makortoff
A fresh battle is taking place over the future over the world’s oldest bank: Italy’s Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS).
Intesa Sanpaolo, which is currently Italy’s largest bank, tabled an unsolicited €30.6bn bid for its rival on Monday. If successful, that would create the euro zone’s second biggest banking group by market cap, worth €126bn, behind Spain’s €155bn Banco Santander.
However, that proposal came hours after Italy’s fourth largest lender, Banco BPM, on Sunday sent a letter to MPS suggesting a merger that would create a “new national champion”, and the second largest bank in Italy, leapfrogging Unicredit – with a market cap of around €50bn.
The tug of war comes two years after MPS returned to private ownership, having been bailed out by the Italian government in 2017 and privatised in 2023/2024. It has been eyed as a potential takeover target since, but took markets by surprise when it bought and merged with rival Mediobanca in a €16bn deal last year.
Intesa’s gatecrashing bid could have consequences for the historic MPS brand, which dates back to 1472. Intesa’s bid involves breaking up the bank, selling 635 MPS branches and the MPS brand to insurer Unipol Assicurazioni. Intesa would keep Mediobanca, as well as its 13% stake in insurer Generali.
The hope is that the arrangement would head-off any competition issues.
All eyes are now on MPS bosses’ response, which could ultimately transform Italy’s banking landscape.
Share
Over in Copenhagan, shares in drugmaker Zealand Pharma are down 25% after trial data showed its injectable obesity drug survodutide had worse side effects and higher patient dropout rates than rival treatments.
Late-stage data from two studies of the drug, presented last weekend at a medical conference, showed that nearly one in four patients taking the highest 6-milligram dose of survodutide stopped treatment due to side effects, with about one in five dropping out specifically because of gastrointestinal problems.
Share
