British equities registered small gains on Tuesday as investors embraced riskier assets following a renewed upswing in bitcoin, even as tensions linked to Iran remained high in policy rhetoric from Washington and Tehran.
At 03:25 ET (07:25 GMT), the FTSE 100 was up 0.15%. Across continental Europe, Germany’s DAX added 0.24% and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.26%. Sterling was largely unchanged against the dollar, trading 0.03% firmer at $1.3640.
Cryptocurrency markets led the risk-on tone. Bitcoin climbed above $80,000, trading near $80,323 after an earlier Asian-hours high of $81,237.94, its best level since mid-May. The token is up 28% so far in August and is positioned for its largest monthly advance since November 2024, gains that market participants traced in part to a softer dollar following Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s announcement of bond-buyback plans.
Political developments have also played a role in crypto flows. "Trump last week called on Congress to pass a bill clarifying cryptocurrency regulation; bitcoin has risen 16% since," according to market commentary in the run-up to Tuesday trading.
Despite the lift for risk assets, geopolitical risk remained a prominent undercurrent. U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters on Monday that Washington was "by no means" ruling out strikes on Iran and added, "if we need to use kinetic strikes, we’ll use them," while stressing that economic pressure remained the primary tool.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that "no one is above the reach of US sanctions," signalling potential targeting of Chinese banks buying Iranian oil, the imposition of new sectoral sanctions and a campaign described as "Operation Economic Outcast" - "the clock just started ticking," he said. Iran’s Mohsen Rezaei warned Tehran could halt all Gulf oil exports if the "economic war" continues.
The article’s geopolitical rundown referenced reported developments including US and Israeli strikes that reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader on February 28, subsequent Iranian retaliation, a partial shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, and an April ceasefire that has since been punctuated by additional flare-ups.
Commodity markets mostly moved lower. Brent crude slipped 0.72% to $89.89 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate eased 0.74% to $89.91. Gold futures dipped 0.016% to $4,697.36 and spot gold traded down 0.22% at $4,641.30.
UK corporate updates
- Melrose said GKN is targeting a full restart of Garden Grove operations on Sept. 28, launched a $100 million claims programme and confirmed it faces no criminal charges.
- easyJet and Apollo extended the deadline for scheme documentation to Oct. 15 as regulator discussions continue.
These corporate developments were noted alongside market moves and may influence sector-specific sentiment, particularly in aerospace and industrial manufacturing, where operations and regulatory processes can affect revenue timing and unit economics.
Overall, investors balanced a buoyant cryptocurrency market and stable European equities against persistent geopolitical uncertainties and modest declines in energy and precious metals. The interplay between dollar dynamics, regulatory signals and regional tensions appeared to be shaping short-term flows into and out of risk assets.