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FTSE 100 Live: Stocks slide as oil and AI weigh on markets

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Large cargo ship, Capital One Lines containers visible, on bright blue water, with a small boat in foreground.
The Strait of Hormuz has remained blocked. (Image: PA)

Welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog.

Investors were met with a volatile start to the week after rising tensions around oil and AI dampened market mood.

Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – held above $107 per barrel on Tuesday morning after worries around global supply ramped up on Monday.

Saudi Arabia has closed its East-West pipeline, which provides an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz, with no clear indication of when operations will resume. A diplomatic meeting between Iran and the Gulf Arab states to discuss the situation in Hormuz was also abruptly postponed.

Iran has also claimed that a supertanker attempted to enter the Strait of Hormuz and exploded after striking mines. Tehran has continued to say it will not engage in talks with the US until its demands are met.

President Donald Trump said on Monday he is “open” to negotiations with Iran.

In a post on Truth Social he said: “The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly. I will determine whether or not the USA will choose to engage – The concept of which we are open to.”

It came after he insisted the steep rise in Diesel prices is a result of the war between Ukraine and Russia and not Iran.

Investors were also facing the latest round of AI jitters following a weekend intervention from Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei, who warned that AI companies needed to “slow the pace” at which they improve their most powerful models.

OpenAI boss Sam Altman and Elon Musk both backed the call, marking a rare point of agreement between three of the industry’s fiercest rivals.

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

Here’s a few of our top headlines this morning