The FTSE 100 has crept closer to a new closing high today, but fallen just short, as investors’ anxiety over the Middle East crisis faded today.London’s index of leading blue-chip shares has ended the day up 24.5 points, or 0.28%, at 8875 points.That leaves the FTSE 100 slightly short of the record closing high, 8884.

92, set last week.Stocks rose in the City amid a wider rally, following reports that Iran is seeking an end to hostilities with Israel and resumption of talks over its nuclear programme.Airline operator IAG (+1.5%) was among the top risers, along with financial stocks such as Standard Chartered (+3%), Barclays (+1.97%) and M&G (+1.

9%),Other European markets also strengthened; Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC were both up around 0,8% in late trading,Stocks pushed higher after the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran has been urgently signaling that it seeks an end to hostilities and resumption of talks over its nuclear programs,Reuters has been told that Iran has asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to press US President Donald Trump to use his influence on Israel for an immediate ceasefire in return for Tehran’s flexibility in talks about its nuclear program.

That also pushed down the oil price; Brent crude is down 3.2% at $71.79 per barrel, having jumped around 7% last Friday after Israel launched an attack on Iran, hitting 100 major targets, including nuclear facilities and missile sites, and killing senior military commanders and scientists.With European markets closed, that’s all for today.Our Middle East liveblog has the latest on the Israel-Iran conflict:Here’s our explainer on how the crisis could affect the oil price, and the knock-on impacts:And here’s more of today’s news:Wall Street remains in the green too; the Dow Jones industrial average is now up 363 points, or 0.

86%, at 42,561 points.“‘Resilient’ could be the word of the day today, with markets on both sides of the Atlantic putting on a decent show despite the backdrop of global instability,” says AJ Bell head of financial analysis Danni Hewson.“The fact that so far key oil infrastructure hasn’t been targeted in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran has been notable, and the oil price has been pared back today.But Brent Crude is still trading significantly up on where it was at the start of the month and that’s already raising the spectre of another cost-of-living crisis in the UK.“Households now have a keen understanding of what conflict in another part of the world can mean for bills back home.

Inflation was already going to be in focus this week as we get May’s data on Wednesday morning followed by the latest decision by the Bank of England on where interest rates will go next a day later.“Markets are now pricing in a slim chance that the MPC will make a move on Thursday after disappointing jobs and growth data coupled with concerns that economic conditions could deteriorate later in the year if the oil price remains under pressure.“The black stuff lubricates the wheels of our lives, providing energy to create, ship and package goods.If it becomes more expensive then that will impact prices in all sorts of areas.”The FTSE 100 has crept closer to a new closing high today, but fallen just short, as investors’ anxiety over the Middle East crisis faded today.

London’s index of leading blue-chip shares has ended the day up 24.5 points, or 0.28%, at 8875 points.That leaves the FTSE 100 slightly short of the record closing high, 8884.92, set last week.

Stocks rose in the City amid a wider rally, following reports that Iran is seeking an end to hostilities with Israel and resumption of talks over its nuclear programme,Airline operator IAG (+1,5%) was among the top risers, along with financial stocks such as Standard Chartered (+3%), Barclays (+1,97%) and M&G (+1,9%).

Other European markets also strengthened; Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC were both up around 0.8% in late trading.Stocks pushed higher after the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran has been urgently signaling that it seeks an end to hostilities and resumption of talks over its nuclear programs.Reuters has been told that Iran has asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to press US President Donald Trump to use his influence on Israel for an immediate ceasefire in return for Tehran’s flexibility in talks about its nuclear program.That also pushed down the oil price; Brent crude is down 3.

2% at $71.79 per barrel, having jumped around 7% last Friday after Israel launched an attack on Iran, hitting 100 major targets, including nuclear facilities and missile sites, and killing senior military commanders and scientists.UK prime minister Keir Starmer has declared that Britain and the United States should “very soon” finalise the implementation of a trade deal agreed last month.Speaking to reporters in Canada, on the sidelines of a Group of Seven (G7) meeting, Starmer said:“I’m certainly seeing President Trump today, and I’m going to discuss with him our trade deal.“I’m very pleased that we made that trade deal, and we’re in the final stages now of implementation, and I expect that to be completed very soon.

”Once finalised, that deal should lower the tariffs on UK-made cars, steel and aluminium.Shares have jumped higher in New York, and the oil price is sliding faster, following a report that Iran has signalled it wants to de-escalate hostilities with Israel and negotiate.The Wall Stret Journal is reporting that Iran has been urgently signaling that it seeks an end to hostilities and resumption of talks over its nuclear programs, sending messages to Israel and the United States via Arab intermediaries.This is pushing equities up on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 share index is now up 69 points or 1.1% at 6,046 points.

Oil has weakened, though – with Brent crude having now fallen by 3.4% today to $71.70 per barrel.That wipes out about half of its jump on Friday.With a little over an hour’s trading to go, London’s stock market is flirting with a new record high.

The FTSE 100 index of blue-chip shares has now risen to 8881 points, up 0.35% today.That puts the Footsie just 3 points away from the record closing high of 8,884 points set last week [the alltime intraday high, of 8,908 points, is a little further away].Over in New York, the stock market has opened higher as geopolitical anxiety appears to ease.The Dow Jones industrial average has risen by 265 points, or 0.

6%, in early trading to 42,463 points,The broader S&P 500 share index has gained 0,6%,David Morrison, senior market analyst at fintech and financial services provider Trade Nation, reports that traders have been snapping up shares following the drop in values since Friday morning,Morrison says:The selling continued as markets reopened late on Sunday.

But traders then bought into the dip, increasing their long side exposure once again.Time will tell if this is short-term opportunism, or a more general uptick in risk appetite.Hostilities between Israel and Iran continued over the weekend.Despite this, it appears that market participants are less concerned about the possibility of the violence spreading throughout the region than they were last week.It appears that most of the airstrikes and missiles have avoided the most significant parts of Iran’s energy infrastructure.

But there are fears that this could change.In addition, Iran has threatened to disrupt, or even shut down, the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil is transported.But some analysts think that this is unlikely, given that this is an important route for Iranian oil to China, its major customer.Israel’s government bonds are also rallying today.Reuters reports that an Israeli bond maturing in 2054 has risen by more than 1% today.

Israel’s currency is on track for its best day against the US dollar since the 2008 financial crisis.The shekel has gained around 3% today, rising to 3.51 to the dollar, up from 3.61 on Friday.The shekel had weakened last Friday after Israel launched its attack on Iran, on fears that its economy could be hurt if the conflict escalated.

Analysts also suggested that the clashes could push back the timeline for monetary easing by the Bank of Israel; higher interest rates tend to support a currency.Oof! Business activity continued to decline in New York State in June, new data shows.The latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey, just released, indicates that business conditions in the state declined again this month,Firms reported that new orders and shipments declined, and supply availability worsened – possibly a sign that Donald Trump’s trade war continues to hurt the US economy.Overall, the Empire State headline general business conditions index fell seven points to -16.0, from -9 in May, weaker than expected.

US June Empire State Factory Index at -16, below estimate of -5,5-15min NewsIn brighter news, though, the survey also found that firms have turned optimistic about the outlook, with the future general business conditions index rising above zero for the first time since March,Empire State Manufacturing index fell to -16,0 in June—4th monthly drop,Orders & shipments down, but jobs rose for first time since Jan.

Firms optimistic: future outlook index hit 21.2.Inflation pressures eased slightly.pic.twitter.

com/dd9A3PY4gDThe survey was conducted between 2 and 9 June, after the US and China agreed their trade war truce in Geneva last month, but before their latest meeting in London last week had concluded.The Israel-Iran conflict, and its impact on oil prices, looms over central banks such as the Bank of England, which is scheduled to set interest rates on Thursday.The BoE is expected to leave borrowing costs unchanged this week, with a cut possible at its August or September meetings.Professor Costas Milas, of the University of Liverpool’s Management School, tells us:As the war between Israel and Iran continues, the outlook for oil prices is bound to become extremely uncertain.Notice that the Bank of England’s latest (in May) Monetary Policy Report assumes (Brent) oil prices of $64 per barrel for both 2025 and 2026.

This is much lower than today’s oil price of $74.60.If the conflict continues, there are clear, and adverse, implications for (UK) inflation and GDP growth.It looks certain that the MPC will keep interest rates unchanged this week.The next decision is in early August.

Nevertheless, if the war escalates, the MPC can still run an unscheduled meeting in July to deal with potentially hugely adverse effects on inflation and growth.European natural gas prices have risen today, as the energy markets continue to be influenced by events in the Middle East.Bloomberg has the details:Benchmark futures rose as much as 3.4% on Monday to the highest since early April, after jumping 4.8% on Friday.

Open hostilities between Israel and Iran entered a fourth day with no sign of easing, stoking fears of a broader conflict in the energy-rich region.For gas traders, the biggest concern is that a further escalation could disrupt shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for seaborne supplies.While physical delivery of liquefied natural gas doesn’t currently appear to be affected, any interruption would strain the market at a crucial time in Europe’s stockpiling season.“If the narrow passage is closed, it would have a severe impact on markets,” said Arne Lohmann Rasmussen, chief analyst at Global Risk Management in Copenhagen.“We are seeing a growing risk that the market may become concerned about storage levels as winter approaches