Tuesday Morning Markets: Mitie Soars; Miners, Defence Lead FTSE Higher

London stocks have risen so far on Tuesday morning, with the FTSE 100 up 0.1% and the FTSE 250 up 0.3%…

On the continent, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were flat, while the Euro Stoxx 50 added 0.5%.

Brent crude has eased 0.8% despite continued U.S. strikes on Iran and the potential for further escalation.

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Meanwhile, on the data front, the UK unemployment rate for May held at 4.9%, in line with the previous reading and slightly below the 5% consensus. The latest UK inflation reading will be reported Wednesday morning.

Precious metals miners are some of the top blue-chip risers after gold and silver jumped overnight, with spot gold up 1.3% and silver surging 4.4%.

Antofagasta (LON: ANTO) has risen 3.3%, Endeavour Mining (LON: EDV) has gained 2.7% and Fresnillo (LON: FRES) has added 2.3%.

Elsewhere, defence names have also advanced on the prospect of a wider U.S.-Iran conflict, with Babcock (LON: BAB) topping the index, up 8.1%, and BAE Systems (LON: BA.) rising 3.5%, while midcap QinetiQ (LON: QQ.) has risen 4.2% so far in the session.

On the downside, Experian (LON: EXPN) has declined 1.9%, Admiral (LON: ADM) has lost 1.8%, and Segro (LON: SGRO) has slipped a further 1.8% as the market weighed Prologis’s takeover approach ahead of Wednesday’s firm-offer deadline.

The standout mover is Mitie (LON: MTO), which has rocketed 38.5% after agreeing a recommended £3.1 billion cash takeover by rival outsourcer OCS Group. The offer of 218.5 pence per share, plus a dividend of up to 3.1 pence, represents a 44.7% premium to Monday’s close and would create a group with combined revenues of about £8.5 billion.

Elsewhere in the FTSE 250, Rosebank Industries (LON: ROSE) rose 9.7% after saying full-year profit and EPS would beat consensus, with its MW Components and CPM acquisitions performing well.

Ceres Power (LON: CWR) has gained 5.6%, while Mony Group (LON: MONY) has dropped around 3.8% on its half-year report and GB Group (LON: GBG) has declined 3.3% following an AGM statement, and SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (LON: SEIT) has lost 3.1%.