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As it happened: Stocks rally; US to unveil ‘economic D-Day’ Iran sanctions

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Welcome back to the Morning Wire FTSE 100 liveblog.

Welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog.

The FTSE 100 rallied on Monday afternoon following a brief slump in the early afternoon. Wier, Airtel Africa and Intercontinental Hotels Group led the index’s risers while Autotrader and Melrose Industries dragged on the index.

The attention of investors is trained on the other side of the Atlantic, where US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will hope his plans to double bond buybacks will halt the sell-off which rocked global markets last week.

The spotlight is on Bessent today for another reason, as he is due to unveil a slew of sanctions on Iran which he says will bring an “economic D-Day” to the US’ months-long war with the country.

Iran’s security chief has hit back at these threats, warning of an “earthquake-like” retaliation. “If the countries surrounding Iran join the Americans in their economic war, not a drop of oil will leave the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and we will also target other oil export routes from the Persian Gulf,” Mohsen Rezaei added.

Oil prices fell slightly on Monday, dragging on the share prices of Shell and BP. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – dipped by about one per cent, leaving prices at just more than $93 per barrel.

Richard Hunter, Interactive Investor’s head of markets, said: “With such a weight of concentration on the multitude of US events due this week, the UK opened as something of an investor sideshow. The FTSE 100 once more hugged the flatline, with no discernible trends among an equilibrium of opposing forces as well as lighter volumes.”

Back at home, the government has announced a review into the business rates revaluations of pubs and hotels, as Andy Burnham continues his efforts to boost communities and high streets.

We’ll be bringing you the latest market updates and analysis.

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