UK stock market's benchmark index FTSE 100 tumbled on Tuesday, weighed down by disappointing earnings from HSBC Holdings and escalating tensions in the Middle East as U.S. and Iran indulge in attacks around the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's parliament speaker said today that US actions were endangering shipping and energy transit in the Strait of Hormuz. "Shipping and energy transit security have been endangered by the United States and its allies through breaching the ceasefire and imposing a blockade," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a post on X.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.