Antofagasta and Fresnillo lead as miners surge on Iran ceasefire agreement
Published: 03:26 08 Apr 2026 EDT
Mining companies topped the FTSE 100 and 250 leaderboard on Wednesday as metals prices rose after the US and Iran agreed a two-week ceasefire.
Copper miner Antofagasta PLC (LSE:ANTO) leapt 12.6%, while copper-focused Anglo American PLC (LSE:AAL) jumped over 10%, with a similar gain for precious metals specialist Fresnillo PLC (LSE:FRES).
Among other blue chips, gold miner Endeavour Mining PLC (LSE:EDV, TSX:EDV, OTCQX:EDVMF, FRA:6E2) rose 5.7%, Rio Tinto Ltd (LSE:RIO, ASX:RIO, OTC:RTNTF) 4.2% and Glencore PLC (LSE:GLEN) was flat.
On the FTSE 250, RHI Magnesita NV (LSE:RHIM), Hochschild Mining PLC (LSE:HOC, OTCQX:HCHDF), Pan African Resources PLC (LSE:PAF, OTCQX:PAFRY) and Atalaya Mining (LSE:ATYM, TSX:AYM) all rose over 7%.
The spot gold price was up above $4,800 an ounce, having been below $4,650 the day before. Silver rose over 5.5% to above $77 an ounce, its highest in three weeks, with copper similarly boosted.
Prices shifted after US President Donald Trump and Iran's foreign minister stated that a two-week ceasefire had been agreed between Washington and Tehran, with Israel also agreeing to hold fire.
Market analyst Daniela Hathorn at Capital.com said: "While this does not guarantee a lasting resolution, it provides both sides with a potential off-ramp and has already begun to ease some of the immediate pressure on global markets."
Oil prices fell sharply, as the potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz was seen as the most significant development from a market perspective.
"The disruption had removed as much as 20% of global oil supply, and even a partial restoration of flows represents a major shift in supply dynamics. This has allowed markets to begin pricing out some of the extreme risk premium that had built up in recent weeks, helping to stabilise oil prices and support risk sentiment more broadly," said Hathorn.
