FTSE 100 today: Stocks jump as miners lead; oil falls on Iran hopes

British stocks experienced a notable surge on Monday, with miners leading the gains driven by rising metals prices. This positive movement was accompanied by a drop in oil prices, fueled by expectations of a potential U.S.-Iran deal. The FTSE 100 index climbed 0.40%, with Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 also registering gains of 0.53% and 0.27%, respectively.

The British pound strengthened by 0.44% to $1.3411. Among the top-performing stocks, Endeavour Mining led the index with a 3.3% jump, followed by Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Anglo American, Glencore, and Rio Tinto, all benefiting from firmer gold, silver, and copper prices. Silver futures for December rose 0.69% to $52.295 per ounce, while spot silver increased by 0.69% to $52.3095.

Platinum January futures gained 0.28% to $1,541 an ounce. Meanwhile, gold December futures saw a 0.60% rise to $4,099.60 an ounce, with spot gold gaining 0.51% to $4,091.37. On the London Metal Exchange, aluminium increased by 0.45% to 3,079.55, and copper gained 0.47% to 13,823.25. Brent January futures declined nearly 2% to $96.39 a barrel, and WTI December futures dropped 1.4% to $89.51.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, expressed satisfaction with the proposal to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, emphasizing it as the most logical, operational, and structured roadmap. However, he highlighted that U.S. and Israeli attacks had impeded International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. Baghaei criticized the U.S. "Iron Gate" taskforce targeting Iranian land trade, arguing it diverted attention from the midterm results.

U.S. President Donald Trump stated that renewed strikes on Iran were highly unlikely if talks on Tehran's nuclear program and Hormuz progressed. He also expressed expectations of meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at next week's APEC summit. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, however, dismissed any progress, citing Iranian demands as "unacceptable."

Iranian media reported that U.S. forces fired projectiles at Qeshm Island on Sunday night, though a provincial official denied infrastructure damage. A suspected drone attack temporarily halted production at Dana Gas's Khor Mor field in northern Iraq. Meanwhile, Nvidia faced a decline of 4.9% to $177.44 in after-hours trading following an independent probe into whether CEO Jensen Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. The company affirmed no compromise of national security or company secrets.