UK and European equities traded with a cautiously positive tone, supported by strength in technology and mining shares. Sentiment improved as oil prices eased from earlier highs, although investors remained attentive to geopolitical developments in the Middle East and their potential implications for inflation and monetary policy. Corporate earnings remained a key influence on individual share performance, while softer UK labour-market indicators encouraged expectations that domestic price pressures may continue to moderate.

US markets advanced as renewed demand for artificial-intelligence and semiconductor companies lifted the broader market. Memory-chip and data-storage businesses were among the strongest performers, while Nvidia also benefited from interest surrounding its investment in European cloud-infrastructure group Nebius. Investors largely looked beyond renewed trade concerns and Middle Eastern tensions, with attention increasingly turning towards forthcoming results from major technology companies.

Asia-Pacific markets recorded broad gains, led by technology-heavy exchanges in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Semiconductor and artificial-intelligence shares drove the advance as investors followed the rebound in comparable US companies. The positive technology backdrop outweighed concerns regarding elevated energy costs and regional exposure to potential disruption in Middle Eastern oil supplies.

Oil markets remained volatile as traders assessed conflicting signals from the Middle East. Prices initially strengthened amid military escalation and threats to regional shipping, before easing as diplomatic efforts raised hopes of renewed negotiations between the United States and Iran. Supply risks remain elevated, particularly around strategically important maritime routes, leaving the market highly sensitive to further political and military developments.

Gold strengthened as investors maintained demand for defensive assets amid geopolitical uncertainty. Although renewed diplomatic discussions offered some prospect of de-escalation, continuing concerns surrounding regional security, energy supplies and inflation supported interest in precious metals. The outlook remains closely linked to movements in the dollar, government-bond yields and expectations for global interest-rate policy.

Mitie agreed to be acquired by privately owned facilities-management rival OCS Group, bringing the company’s long standing London listing closer to an end. The proposed transaction represents a substantial premium for shareholders and adds to concerns regarding the continuing departure of established businesses from the UK public market. The deal also illustrates the sustained appetite among private-capital investors for mature British companies with dependable contracted revenues.