April 14 (Reuters) - UK stocks rebounded on Tuesday, buoyed by hopes of U.S.-Iran peace talks, even as the U.S. began a blockade of Iran's ports.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.1% to 10,593.65 points by 5:58 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 climbed 1.13%.
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UK stocks gained on Tuesday, mirroring strength in European peers, after a report said U.S. and Iranian negotiators may return to Islamabad for talks later this week.
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Oil prices fell below $100 a barrel.
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Heavyweight banks gained 0.4%, with NatWest Group and Standard Chartered rising more than 1% and Barclays
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Precious metal miners rose 2.6%, tracking gold and silver prices; Fresnillo and Hochschild Mining up 3.5% and 2.6% respectively
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Industrial metal miners added 1.5%, with Rio Tinto rising 0.7% and Glencore up 1.7% after copper prices hit one-month high.
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Energy stocks dipped 0.6%, with Shell and BP down more than 0.5%.
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Travel and leisure stocks gained 1.8% as oil prices slipped. Cruise operator Carnival was up 2.7%, while airlines also inched higher.
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EasyJet and Wizz Air rose 2.5% and 7.5%, respectively.
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Davidoff cigarettes maker Imperial Brands slumped more than 7%, nearly a nine-month low after it flagged uncertainty for the year due to Middle East conflicts.
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Intertek rose 11.8% to a one-year high after the product testing and certifications group said it is considering splitting its business.
Reporting by Utkarsh Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed
Source: Reuters