UK stocks edge higher as US-Iran peace deal boosts sentiment

June 15 (Reuters) - UK stocks edged higher on Monday as global risk sentiment received a boost after the United States and Iran reached a preliminary peace agreement, sending oil prices lower.

Brent Crude prices fell nearly 5% after officials from Washington and Tehran said they had reached an agreement to end the three-month-long conflict, which would include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil shipping route.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.10% to 10,481.76 points by 10:48 AM GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 climbed 0.57%.

• Precious metal miners led with a 6.9% jump, tracking extended gains in gold and silver prices. Fresnillo and Hochschild climbed 10.1% and 7.8%, respectively.

• Homebuilders rose 2.2%, with Persimmon and Bellway gaining 3% and 2.6%, respectively.

• Lower oil prices lifted travel & leisure stocks by 1.6%, with Wizz Air climbing the most at 5.6%.

• Oil giants BP and Shell declined 3.4% and 4.3%, respectively, tracking crude prices.

• The Bank of England is expected to hold the interest rate on Thursday, following a 25 bps hike from the European Central Bank last week.

• Bunzl rose 1.4% following a report that activist investor Elliott has taken an almost 5% stake in the supplies distributor.

• Among mid-caps, Frasers Group declined 2% after the sporting goods retailer launched a buyout offer for Australia's Accent Group.

• Chipmaker IQE jumped 20.9% after signing a deal with Tower Semiconductor for optical connectivity solution.

(Reporting by Utkarsh Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)