Late market roundup: FTSE 100 falls as Iran strikes unsettle markets

London stocks ended lower on Tuesday as renewed US strikes against Iran rattled the market as Americans headed to the polls in closely watched midterm elections.

The FTSE 100 index closed down 122.90 points, 1.1%, at 10,638.43. The FTSE 250 ended 120.94 points lower, 0.5%, at 24,674.91, and the AIM all-share declined 3.32 points, 0.4%, at 754.60.

The Cboe UK 100 ended down 1.1% at 1,056.70, the Cboe UK 250 closed 0.5% lower at 21,835.51, and the Cboe small companies fell 0.2% to 18,553.52.

In Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 0.2%, while the DAX 40 shed 0.5% in Frankfurt.

Around the time of the London equities close on Tuesday, stocks in New York were mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3%, the S&P 500 was 0.5% higher and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9%.

Investors were wary as US voters headed to the polls. The US midterm elections are expected to deal a bloody nose to President Donald Trump with the Democrats hoping to seize control of Congress and impose the first significant checks on Trump's second term.

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election, with Republicans defending a narrow majority and Democrats needing a net gain of four seats to take control.

In the Senate, 35 seats are being contested. Republicans currently hold 53 seats against 47 held by Democrats, leaving Democrats needing a net gain of four seats to secure a majority.

"The blue sweep remains our highest probability outcome, though we note the Senate remains closely fought and the eventual size of any majority is uncertain. Polling in a number of Senate races shows an outcome that lies within the margin of error. Past elections show that polls can misjudge turnout or miss important drivers that only become evident after voting concludes," commented Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, global head of equities, UBS Chief Investment Office.

For his part, Trump defended his record Tuesday in a final TV phone-in pitch to voters on the morning of the elections, saying he had rebuilt the country through his immigration crackdown, war on Iran and tariff policy.

"We have to keep America great. We're great now. We were terrible two years ago," Trump told the "Fox & Friends" ahead of the vote.

Figures on Tuesday suggested the US jobs market remains resilient with the number of job openings growing more than anticipated, according to a report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The BLS's Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey stated the number of job openings rose to 7.523 million in September from a revised 7.190 million in August, and 7.169 million the year prior. FXStreet consensus had forecast job openings to total 7.13 million.

The figures come ahead of the US jobs report on Friday. FXStreet consensus expects the US economy to have added 65,000 jobs in October, picking up from 29,000 in September.

Elsewhere, the focus was on the volatile oil market after Trump confirmed the US had launched a strike on Iran.

Trump confirmed the strikes on Iran in an interview with Fox News, after reports of attacks on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.

"They built an anti-aircraft facility... As soon as it was completed, we hit it last night very nicely," Trump said on the Fox & Friends show, adding that it was a "minor attack".

The Qeshm attack came just hours after Trump signalled a deal with Iran "could happen", as US voters prepared to cast their ballots in midterms dominated by public dissatisfaction with the war and the inflation it has brought.

"Iran wants a settlement, as soon as possible," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

But David Morrison, analyst at Trade Nation, said the likelihood of a peace deal "being reached anytime soon looks slim at best".

Despite the strike, Brent continued to edge lower after falling sharply on Monday. Brent oil was trading at USD103.24 a barrel on Tuesday, lower than USD105.09 late Monday.

The pound was quoted at USD1.3416 late Tuesday afternoon, little moved from USD1.3417 at the same time on Monday. Against the euro, sterling firmed to EUR1.1986 from EUR1.1980.

The euro was lower at USD1.1197 from USD1.1200 late Monday. Against the yen, the dollar rose to JPY158.44 from JPY157.82.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.94% late on Tuesday afternoon, stretched from 4.89% on Monday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was at 5.30%, widened from 5.25%.

On London's FTSE 100, Bermuda-based insurance company Hiscox rose 3.0% as it reported a nearly 10% increase in insurance contract written premiums in the first nine months of 2026, while saying insurance claims were within expectations in the third quarter, as few natural catastrophes offset shipping losses in the war-torn Middle East.

In the red, Primark owner AB Foods fell 2.2% as its full-year results failed to inspire.

As well as retailer Primark, London-based AB Foods owns food and ingredients brands such as Twinings tea, Levi Roots sauces, Hovis Bakeries and Jordans cereals.

While the results were broadly in line with expectations set out in a recent trading statement, AB Foods trimmed the outlook for its Grocery business for the new financial year while its Sugar unit is forecast to remain loss-making.

Weak metals prices put miners under pressure. Gold was quoted at USD3,933.38 an ounce Tuesday, lower than USD3,968.02 on Monday. Silver traded down 1.6% and copper declined 2.5%.

The falls weighed on Endeavour Mining, Glencore, Antofagasta and Anglo American, down 4.7%, 2.8%, 3.5% and 2.8% respectively.

On the FTSE 250, International Workplace Group gained 8.6% as it said it expects to beat market consensus expectations for all of 2026, after "another strong quarter".

The Zug, Switzerland-based firm is a provider of hybrid workspace under Regus and other brands.

IWG tightened its full-year adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation guidance range, which had been USD585 million to USD625 million, and now expects adjusted Ebitda to be above current consensus of USD599 million.

Also in the green, Drax added 6.6%. It said it has signed an agreement to develop a strategic partnership to jointly develop and operate an artificial intelligence data centre on the Drax Power Station estate in the north of England.

The Selby, North Yorkshire-based electricity generator said the agreement with New York-based Brookfield Asset Management, and Radiant, Brookfield's UK-headquartered AI infrastructure platform, is targeting development of a more than 1 gigawatt data centre at the power station.

Brookfield estimates that total potential investment, including semiconductor chips, could exceed £20 billion, with an initial £2.5 billion as a part of phase one.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Hiscox up 56.00p at 1,939.00p, Babcock International, up 16.00p at 1,047.50p, 3i Group up 34.00p at 2,562.00p, WPP, up 5.20p at 413.20p and Prudential up 11.00p at 944.20p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Endeavour Mining down 177.00p at 3,557.00p, Barratt Redrow down 15.60p at 319.00p, Antofagasta down 115.00p at 3,138.00p, Compass Group down USD0.99 at USD33.50 and Glencore down 14.70p at 504.30p.

Wednesday's global economic events calendar has a raft of composite and service sector PMI reports, including the UK at 0930 GMT. Eurozone inflation figures are also due, plus US trade data and the ADP jobs report.

Wednesday's local corporate calendar has half-year results from retailer Marks & Spencer and a trading statement from housebuilder Barratt Redrow.

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