London close: Stocks finish higher, cable slides

London stocks finished in the green on Monday as oil prices jumped on hopes OPEC will stabilise the market at a meeting in September.

The FTSE 100 ended up 0.36% to 6,941.19 points.

The pound fell 0.32% against the dollar at $1.2879 ahead of UK inflation data due on Tuesday.

At the same time, oil prices surged with Brent crude rising 2.2% to $48.06 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate increasing 2.4% to $45.60 per barrel at 1621 BST.

“Crude prices are ripping higher today, with Brent reaching a new monthly high in anticipation of a potential output freeze from the September OPEC meeting,” said IG market analyst Joshua Mahony.

“However, the reality of the matter is that Saudi Arabia is likely to scupper any potential deal once more given its unwillingness to sacrifice market share to the US.“

In economic data, Japan’s economy hardly grew in the April to June quarter, weighed by exports and business investment.

The economy grew 0.2% on an annualised basis, down from 2% in the first three months of the year. Meanwhile, private consumption nudged up just 0.2%, down from 0.6% growth the quarter before.

“The BoJ has found few things to cheer about in recent years, and with today’s poor growth data coupled with yen fuelled disinflation, the BoJ look likely to ease once more as a result,” said Mahony.

In the UK, Rightmove data showed asking prices for homes in England and Wales fell 1.2% on the month in August, the biggest fall since November, following a 0.9% decline in July. On the year, prices rose 4.1% in August but it marked a slowdown from July’s 4.5% year-on-year growth.

Rightmove blamed Brexit worries and a quieter summer holiday period for the monthly decline.

In the US, the Empire State manufacturing index for August fell to negative 4.2 from 0.55 in July. Economists had expected a reading of 2.

The National Association of Home Builders said US builder confidence rose in August as positive job growth in July offset weak GDP reports. The index for builder sentiment increased two points to 60 from a downwardly-revised reading of 58 in July, as expected by analysts.

Among corporate stocks, oil producers gained on the back of the increase in crude prices. Royal Dutch Shell and BP were among the risers.

Paddy Power Betfair was also higher after its rival William Hill rejected an improved offer from Rank Group and 888 Holdings over the weekend.

Housebuilders were in the red, including Berkeley Group Holdings and Travis Perkins, following the weak Rightmove data on house prices.

Bovis Homes was also lower despite posting growth in profit and revenue for the first half, as it said it was too early to gauge the impact of Brexit.

Countryside Properties slumped after J.P. Morgan downgraded the stock to ‘neutral’ from ‘overweight’ as part of a sector-wide review.

Clarkson shares advanced even as it reported a drop in first half underlying pre-tax profit on flat revenue.

Entertainment One surged amid reports that ITV was planning to raise its bid for the company as it emerged that private equity firm KKR is considering making an offer.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,941.19 0.36%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,941.85 0.11%
techMARK (TASX) 3,555.26 0.60%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 9,805.00p 2.35%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,324.00p 2.15%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 1,119.00p 1.91%
Anglo American (AAL) 872.70p 1.84%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,247.00p 1.71%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 215.90p 1.36%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,735.00p 1.34%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,713.50p 1.33%
Capita (CPI) 1,016.00p 1.30%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,988.00p 1.27%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 2,493.00p -1.81%
Tesco (TSCO) 157.80p -1.68%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 193.10p -1.63%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 54.50p -1.62%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 348.80p -1.61%
Glencore (GLEN) 193.00p -1.61%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,086.00p -1.36%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,540.00p -0.96%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 235.40p -0.93%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 403.90p -0.91%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 255.00p 6.78%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,140.00p 5.16%
Ibstock (IBST) 182.30p 5.07%
NMC Health (NMC) 1,288.00p 4.55%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 247.80p 3.81%
Paysafe Group (PAYS) 416.50p 3.79%
Rank Group (RNK) 215.10p 3.36%
IP Group (IPO) 183.90p 3.14%
Ted Baker (TED) 2,521.00p 2.73%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 173.70p 2.66%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

William Hill (WMH) 320.00p -4.11%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 297.90p -3.53%
Countryside Properties (CSP) 234.30p -3.50%
Redrow (RDW) 335.30p -2.98%
Ascential (ASCL) 243.90p -2.44%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 817.00p -2.27%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 359.10p -2.26%
Circassia Pharmaceuticals (CIR) 96.45p -2.13%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 5,575.00p -2.11%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 186.50p -2.05%