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(Sharecast News) - London stocks nudged higher in early trade on Monday, helped along by a strong showing from oil majors BP and Shell.
At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 9,215.42.
Investors will be turning their attention to France, where Prime Minister Francois Bayrou is expected to lose a confidence vote.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "This would mean that France will have four governments in a year, as politicians try to push through Budget cuts to get the public spending.
"Last month, a French government minister said that the country may need an IMF bailout because its finances were so bad."
She added: "Overall, there is a lot resting on this vote, and the markets will be taking notice of the outcome, as highly indebted nations cannot hide anymore."
In equity markets, Marks & Spencer was the standout gainer on the FTSE 100 after Citi upgraded the stock to 'buy' from 'neutral' and lifted the price target to 440p from 380p as it said structural tailwinds are underappreciated.
"With the shares 18% below pre-Cyber levels, we see an attractive entry point for a business with good underlying momentum," it said.
Citi said that in Fashion, app and survey data suggest M&S is gaining share with younger customers. The bank said its proprietary model implies this can add around 1.5 percentage points to its like-for-like sales per year.
In Food, meanwhile, Citi said its modelling suggests a larger mix of 'bigger baskets' is driving share gains as M&S benefits from trade down from restaurants.
BP and Shell gushed higher as oil prices rose after OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to gradually lift output next month.
Construction firm Vistry advanced after saying it has formed a long-term investment joint venture with Homes England, Westminster's housing and regeneration agency, to accelerate the development of large-scale residential sites across England.
On the downside, retirement savings and income business Phoenix Group was in the red despite saying it was "firmly on track" to hit its medium-term targets after a strong first half, during which profits surged by a quarter.
The company also announced that it is to change its group name to Standard Life in March 2026, "helping with our objective to simplify our business".