FTSE 100 closes down but recovers from its lows after oil price drops on hopes of Iran war peace talks

From the Newshound archive · first published 20 October 2026.

Brent crude surged to $111.20 a barrel on Tuesday before pulling back to $106.65 by the London close. The retreat came after reports, unconfirmed, that Qatar and Pakistan had put forward a mediation proposal to resolve the Middle East conflict. The US had reportedly given its approval, and Iran had allegedly signalled its agreement. The FTSE 100 ended the session 31.69 points lower at 10,733.00, having earlier dropped as far as 10,673.02.

The FTSE 250 slipped 0.1% to 24,364.76, while the AIM all-share fell 0.7%.

Weekend rioting in France kept European markets unsettled, with Paris's Cac 40 down 0.4%.

French PM Sebastien Lecornu promised a 'massive' security deployment for next Saturday's protests.