April 7 (Reuters) - UK shares ended lower in broader-based losses on Tuesday, as investors turned risk-averse heading into U.S. President Donald Trump's deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz with no compromise in sight.
Trump threatened that "a whole civilization will die tonight" as Iran showed no sign of accepting his ultimatum to open the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday evening, Washington time.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index dropped 0.8% to 10,348.8 points at close, while the midcap FTSE 250 slid 0.4%.
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Trump has given Iran until 8 p.m. in Washington (0000 GMT and 3:30 a.m. in Tehran) to end its blockade of Gulf oil.
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Trading in the UK picks up on Tuesday after a long weekend break where markets were shut for the Good Friday and Easter Monday holidays.
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The blue-chip index briefly hit an over one-month high earlier in the day, but Tuesday's fall meant snapping a four-day winning streak.
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Aerospace and defence lagged, declining 2.6%; shares of Rolls-Royce fell 3.9%.
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Travel and leisure shed 1.9% with airline stocks particularly hit as crude oil prices climbed amid the volatile situation in Iran.
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Oil and gas was a bright spot, rising 0.8% tracking higher crude oil prices.
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Heavyweight banks lost 0.8%, while pharmaceutical and biotech shares fell 2.2%.
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On the data front, a survey showed that businesses in Britain's services sector reported the biggest month-on-month jump in costs in March since 2021.
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A U.S. inflation reading due later this week would be on investors' radar for more clues on the Federal Reserve's interest rate path.
Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed and Matthew Lewis
Source: Reuters