London shares were higher at midday on Monday, boosted by firmer commodity prices, as investors continued to monitor developments in the Middle East and looked ahead to a busy macro and corporate calendar.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.41% to 7,630.63.
Michael Hewson, analyst at CMC Markets, said: “European markets have started the week cautiously higher as there was no escalation in tensions over the weekend, although rest assured investors are keeping an eye on events in the Middle East as Israel weighs its next step.
On home shores, the latest data from Rightmove showed house prices rose in October at the slowest monthly pace at this time of year since the 2008 financial crisis.
House prices rose 0.5% to £368,231, well below the historical norm of 1.4%. Meanwhile, property prices fell by 0.8% year-on-year.
Rightmove said the number of sales agreed was 17% below this time last year, as sellers struggling to adjust their price expectations to current levels of activity find their homes left on the shelf.
The firmer raw material prices in recent days have provided a boost on the stock markets Rio Tinto, Glencore And sleeve.
Next was on top after the clothing and home goods retailer announced Friday it would buy FatFace.
St James’s Place The company rebounded somewhat after easing on Friday following confirmation that it was reviewing its fees and charges structure.
Severn Trent rose after Jefferies upgraded the shares to “Buy” from “Underperform.”
Online supermarket Ocado was the worst performer on the FTSE 100 and was dragged down by a downgrade to underweight at Barclays.
Hipgnosis was reeling after it said it had scrapped plans to pay an interim dividend to ensure it meets its debt covenants as it now expects lower payments from its US catalog.
Elsewhere in focus was Mike Ashely’s Frasers Group, which increased its stake in a fast fashion retailer Boohoo from 13.4% to 15.1%. Last week the company, which owns Sports Direct, House of Fraser and Flannels, increased its stake from 9.1%.
Market movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,630.63 0.41%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,519.39 0.37%
techMARK (TASX) 4,158.89 0.16%
FTSE 100 – Risers
St James’s Place (STJ) 672.20p 5.00%
Next (NXT) 7,090.00p 3.44%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 761.80p 2.97%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,217.00p 2.84%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,516.00p 2.82%
Entaine (ENT) 960.00p 2.67%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 133.85p 2.29%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,019.00 pence 1.92%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 219.30p 1.81%
Anglo-American (AAL) 2,282.00p 1.78%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 500.00p -5.80%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,135.00p -1.57%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 116.50p -1.44%
GSK (GSK) 1,493.20p -1.11%
Experian (EXPN) 2,751.00p -0.90%
Croda International (CRDA) 4,320.00p -0.80%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,968.00p -0.74%
Compass group (CPG) 2,057.00p -0.72%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,812.00p -0.72%
Relx plc (REL) 2,893.00p -0.69%
FTSE 250 – Risers
Energean (ENOG) 907.50p 6.76%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 161.10p 4.92%
Abrdn (ABDN) 164.20p 4.15%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 430.80p 3.81%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 87.30p 3.31%
ITV (ITV) 67.12p 3.20%
Pennon Group (PNN) 682.00p 3.18%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 209.00p 2.96%
TP Icap Group (TCAP) 166.80p 2.90%
Telekom Plus (TEP) 1,550.00p 2.79%
FTSE 250 – Fallers
Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited NPV (SONG) 67.00p -9.34%
Digital 9 Infrastructure NPV (DGI9) 34.15p -5.79%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 4,645.00p -4.23%
888 holdings (DI) (888) 82.50p -4.07%
Currys (CURY) 45.68p -3.42%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 170.00p -3.41%
Centamine (DI) (CEY) 85.20p -3.24%
Foresight Solar Fund Limited (FSFL) 84.00p -3.11%
Marshalls (MSLH) 205.00p -2.94%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 137.40 p -2.83%
