By Reuters

(Reuters) - UK's main stock indexes ​posted modest gains on Tuesday, led by advances in financials, as ‌hopes of possible ceasefire talks between the U.S. and Iran bolstered investor confidence.

The U.S. voiced confidence that peace talks with Iran in Pakistan would proceed, while Tehran said it ​was considering joining, though uncertainty remained as the ceasefire nears its ​end.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index (.FTSE) rose 0.1% to 10,628.63 points ⁠by 1020 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) gained 0.9%. 

• Heavyweight bank HSBC (HSBA.L) and Standard Chartered (STAN.L) rose 1% and 1.2%, respectively, leading to a 0.6% gain ​in the broader banks index (.FTNMX301010).

• Britain's labour market cooled only marginally in the three months to February, with pay growth easing less than expected and unemployment falling largely due to students ​leaving the workforce.

• British Land Company (BLND.L)  rose 2.4% after the real estate group ​raised annual earnings forecast on higher demand from AI and tech companies.

• The benchmark FTSE ‌100 is ⁠up 4.4% so far this month, underperforming its European peers. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) and German's DAX (.GDAXI) are up 7.8% and 8.3%, respectively.

• E-commerce group THG (THG.L) jumped 7.3% after reporting strongest first-quarter revenue since 2021.

• Miner Rio Tinto posted higher ​first-quarter iron ore ​sales, but flagged ⁠supply-chain risks in the second half, owing to the Middle East war. Its shares gained 0.4%.

• Precious metal miners Fresnillo (FRES.L) ​and Hochschild (HOCM.L) fell 0.7% and 1.3%, respectively, tracking a decline ​in ⁠gold and silver prices.

• Associated British Foods (ABF.L) said it would split fashion chain Primark from its foods business. Its shares fell 3.1%.

• Power generator SSE (SSE.L) rose a further 4.2% ⁠after plunging ​more than 10% last week following Finance ​Minster Rachel Reeves's plans to weaken the link between cost of electricity and gas prices. The ​utilities sector (.FTUB6510) was up 1.4%.

Reporting by Utkarsh Tushar Hathi; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar

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