Middle East Peace Hopes Send Oil Prices Tumbling
The FTSE 100 index closed up 21.68 points, or 0.2%, at 10,879.38 on Tuesday as oil prices fell amid renewed talk of a peace deal in the Middle East.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there's a chance for a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic by Wednesday, which could settle energy prices back down.
The falls dragged BP and Shell lower by 4.9% and 2.5%, respectively, but they reported better-than-expected second-quarter results. BP's underlying replacement profit before interest and tax soared to $10.31 billion in the quarter ending on June 30 from $5.25 billion the year prior.
New chief executive Meg O'Neill said the firm has made 'good progress' strengthening its balance sheet, but analysts at RBC Capital Markets noted that ownership of BP's historical failings is a step forward for the investment case.