(Sharecast News) - Strong gains in the heavyweight mining sector lifted London's FTSE 100 higher on Monday despite the ongoing standoff between the US and Iran, while investors chose to shrug off an increase of political risk closer to home.
The Footsie finished the session up 0.4% at 10,269.43, rebounding slightly after losing nearly 2% over the past two sessions.
Commodity prices rose across the board on Monday, with strong gains in silver (+7.0%) and copper (+3.4%) propelling London's blue chip miners higher. However, even a 2.6% jump in the price of Brent crude to $103.91 a barrel couldn't even deter equity markets from pushing higher.
Oil's gains came after Washington rejected a new proposal from Tehran aimed at ending the months-long conflict in the Middle East. Iran's proposal called for a halt to fighting on all fronts, the lifting of sanctions on Tehran and emphasised Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, but Donald Trump dismissed the response in a social media post, calling it "TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!"
"Trump's rejection of Iran's demands sets up the potential for another round of conflict in the region, but it seems nothing can shake investors from their conviction that a deal will be done at some point," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG. "Oil prices have eased off the overnight highs, and while the Vix is higher, it remains within spitting distance of the recent lows - no one seems to have decided to panic just yet."
On home shores, investors mulled a speech by prime minister Keir Starmer, who insisted he would not walk away from Number 10 despite a bruising local election performance from Labour last week. However, he acknowledged that the UK would go down "a very dark path" if the government did not start to do better.
"This speech was seen as make or break for his position, and he came out fighting, dismissing the prospect of a change in PM. Although the PM faced challenges to his leadership over the weekend, there has been no knockout blow, and so far on Monday, the markets are calm, yields are moderately higher, and the pound remain above $1.36, even though the dollar is higher on a broad basis today," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
Airtel Africa surges, miners rise
Airtel Africa surged 15% after shareholder Bharti Airtel said it is considering a reorganisation of its subsidiary companies' shareholding frameworks, including Airtel. The Indian telecoms company said the reorganisation of the shareholding framework could involve consolidation or acquisition of shares in its subsidiaries.
BA and Iberia owner IAG also flew 6% higher as JPMorgan said it remained 'overweight' the shares after a "good" first quarter, driven by strong pricing. The bank also said it expects robust earnings and free cash flow this year despite the impact from higher fuel.
However, it was the heavyweight mining sector that was providing a big boost in London, with blue chips Anglo American, Antofagasta, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto and Glencore all among the top 10 best performers on the FTSE 100. FTSE 250 peers Hochschild Mining and Endeavour Mining also rose, along with BlackRock World Mining Trust.
Compass Group rallied as it boosted its full-year outlook following a robust first half. The catering giant now expects annual organic operating profit growth of more than 11%, up from previous guidance for around 10%.
On the downside, one notable faller was F&C Investment Trust which tumbled, though the drop was technical and due to a 4 for 1 share split becoming effective.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,269.43 0.36%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,807.86 -0.18%
techMARK (TASX) 5,914.54 -0.18%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Airtel Africa (AAF) 420.20p 14.50%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 409.70p 6.42%
Anglo American (AAL) 4,000.00p 3.92%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 4,042.00p 3.71%
Fresnillo (FRES) 3,698.00p 3.53%
Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 37.48p 3.25%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 7,927.00p 2.89%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,379.00p 2.62%
Compass Group 11 (CPG) 30.19p 2.34%
Glencore (GLEN) 575.80p 2.24%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
F&C Investment Trust (FCIT) 329.00p -75.04%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 7,010.00p -7.15%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 71.64p -4.58%
Entain (ENT) 526.60p -3.91%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,169.50p -3.35%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,333.00p -3.20%
British Land Company (BLND) 379.60p -2.97%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 4,533.00p -2.95%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,017.00p -2.87%
3i Group (III) 2,516.00p -2.86%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 679.00p 5.93%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 756.00p 5.44%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 1,022.00p 3.34%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 4,957.00p 3.34%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 242.40p 3.24%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 270.00p 2.97%
Pan African Resources (PAF) 155.60p 2.95%
Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) 102.10p 2.94%
Greggs (GRG) 1,522.00p 2.22%
Partners Group Private Equity Limited. (EUR) (PEY) 8.52p 2.16%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 148.20p -4.02%
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 324.50p -3.71%
B&M European Value Retail (BME) 167.50p -3.68%
Softcat (SCT) 1,368.00p -3.66%
WH Smith (SMWH) 490.00p -3.64%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 453.20p -3.25%
Oakley Capital Investments Limited (DI) (OCI) 460.00p -3.16%
Harworth Group (HWG) 132.80p -3.07%
JPMorgan India Growth & Income (JIGI) 819.00p -2.96%
Trainline (TRN) 217.00p -2.86%
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