(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 8 apr - Shares in London closed broadly higher as investors welcomed a two-week ceasefire agreed between the US and Iran that could lead to a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

'I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,' president Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

'We received a 10-point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate,' Trump said, adding the ceasefire was conditional on Iran agreeing to an opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

For its part, Iran said safe passage through Hormuz, the narrow waterway that handled roughly a fifth of global energy flows before the conflict, will be possible via coordination with Iran's armed forces.

But while the ceasefire was welcomed, concern remains over its fragility with ongoing attacks on infrastructure in the region being reported.

Oil prices sank after the ceasefire announcement, with Brent down 13.11% at just below 95 dollars a barrel, sending energy stocks lower. BP and Shell dropped 5.82% at 562.70 pence and 4.68% at 3,401.00 pence, respectively.

Airline stocks meanwhile were higher with British Airways-parent IAG surging 8.11% at 389.40 pence and easyJet jumping 9.99% at 392.90 pence.

On the data front, the UK construction PMI rose slightly to 45.6 but remained below the neutral 50-point mark for the fifteenth consecutive month.

The London FTSE 100 closed up 2.51% at 10,608.88 points.

(RADIOCOR) 08-04-26 18:16:24 (0600) 5 NNNN