FTSE 100 Tumbles Amid US-Iran Conflict and Rising Oil Prices

The FTSE 100 index closed down 0.3% at 10,789.28, while Brent crude was up 2.4% at $92.68 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate rose 3.1% to $88.43 after the US and Iran exchanged strikes for the first time since July over the weekend.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: 'A post-UK Bank Holiday hangover looked inevitable for the FTSE 100 given the losses chalked up across Europe, Asia and the US since the end of last week.'

Government bond yields surged as oil prices moved back above $90 per barrel, bringing concerns about inflationary pressures to the fore.

In a familiar pattern, diplomatic progress in the Middle East last week amounted to little as hostilities between the US and Iran instead ramped up once more.