(Reuters) -UK shares nudged higher on Monday, led by heavyweight energy and bank stocks, while losses in consumer staples and healthcare kept gains in check.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.2% by 1005 GMT, while the domestically focussed mid-cap index added 0.6%.
Boosting the FTSE 100, energy stocks rose 1.3% after crude oil prices gained 1.9%. The prospect of additional sanctions on Russian crude after an overnight strike in Ukraine outweighed OPEC+’s planned output hike. [O/R]
Oil majors Shell and BP rose about 1.3% each.
Bank stocks advanced 0.7%, bouncing back following Friday’s slide, with top lenders Standard Chartered, NatWest and Barclays among the top performers on the benchmark index.
Precious metal miners advanced tracking higher gold prices. Fresnillo rose 1.9%. [GOL/]
Personal goods rose 2.4% with Burberry up 2.7%.
On the flip side, healthcare stocks declined 0.6%. Heavyweight AstraZeneca edged lower 0.6%.
Life insurers index fell 0.7%, weighed down by Phoenix Group that fell 6.2%, to the bottom of the FTSE 100.
The insurer said it would rebrand as Standard Life in March 2026, and reported a larger-than-expected decline in book value driven by market fluctuations.
Beverages lost 1.4%, with spirits maker Diageo down 2.2%.
Some consumer staples stocks declined. Unilever fell 1.2%, among the worst performers on the benchmark index.
In other moves, Marks & Spencer rose 2.7%, to top the FTSE 100, after Citi upgraded the retailer to “buy” from “neutral”.
PRS REIT rose 8.4%, to top the mid-cap index, after the real estate investment trust said U.S. private equity firm KKR has joined its formal sale process, but has not made an offer for the company.
Homebuilder Vistry gained 3.2% after signing a joint venture partnership with UK’s housing and regeneration agency Homes England to develop community homes.
Meanwhile, surveys showed British employers offered the lowest pay settlements in more than three-and-a-half years in July and hiring continued to slow.
The figures highlight businesses’ fears of another round of tax rises in finance minister Rachel Reeves’ November 26 budget.
(Reporting by Sukriti Gupta; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
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