London close: Stocks mixed as oil prices continue rising

London's stock markets ended Monday on a mixed note, as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher, benefiting energy stocks.

The FTSE 100 index gained 0.28%, closing at 8,303.62 points, while the more domestically-focussed FTSE 250 dropped 0.22% to 20,853.21 points.

In currency markets, sterling was last down 0.34% on the dollar to trade at $1.3078, as it slipped 0.37% against the euro, changing hands at €1.1913.

“Friday’s bumper jobs report has allayed any lingering fears of a US recession for now, and has helped stock markets to hold their ground despite the rising tensions across the Middle East,” said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

“Investor calm is likely due to hopes that the delayed Israeli response to Iran means that Tel Aviv will avoid escalating the conflict much further.”

Beauchamp noted that oil prices were continuing to rise on expectations of a much tighter outlook for supply and demand.

“Having had a couple of months focusing on US job market weakness, we could be pivoting back to inflation-watching, though the spike is unlikely to show up much in this week’s data.”

UK house prices rise, eurozone investor sentiment improves

In economic news, UK house prices continued to climb in September, marking the third consecutive month of gains, driven by more affordable mortgage rates.

According to figures from lender Halifax, prices increased by 0.3% month-on-month, matching August’s rise, and were up 4.7% compared to the same period last year, the strongest annual growth since November 2022.

The average price of a home now stands at £293,399, just below the record high of £293,507 set in June 2022.

Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said it was essential to view the recent gains in context.

“While the typical property value has risen by around £13,000 over the past year, this increase is largely a recovery of the ground lost over the previous 12 months.

“Looking back two years, prices have increased by just 0.4%, or £1,202.

“Market conditions have steadily improved over the summer and into early autumn - mortgage affordability has been easing thanks to strong wage growth and falling interest rates.”

On the continent, investor sentiment in the eurozone showed signs of improvement for the first time in four months, as hopes of recovery were bolstered by economic stimulus from China.

The Sentix investor confidence index rose to -13.8 in October, up from -15.4 in September.

Despite the overall improvement, the current situation gauge fell to -23.3, its lowest in four months, while expectations improved to -3.8 from -8.0 the previous month.

“The downward trend in the economy has stopped for the time being. There are signs of easing in all regions of the world,” the Sentix survey read.

“The new economic stimulus in China is showing its first effect - albeit only to a manageable extent so far.

“The global economic trend reflects a clear relaxation.”

Meanwhile, Germany's industrial sector faced a sharp setback in August, as factory orders dropped by 5.8%, the steepest decline in seven months.

That followed an upwardly revised 3.9% gain in July, signaling continued struggles in Europe's largest economy.

On an annual basis, factory orders were down 3.9%, contrasting with a 4.6% increase seen in July.

Energy plays in the green, gold miners on the back foot

On London’s equity markets, energy stocks Shell and BP were among the gainers as oil prices continued to rise.

Shell saw a 2.11% gain despite reporting a sharp drop in third-quarter refining margins.

BP advanced 1.38%, following reports from Reuters that the company has abandoned its goal of reducing oil and gas output by 2030, as CEO Murray Auchincloss focussed on regaining investor confidence by scaling back the firm’s energy transition strategy.

Elsewhere, Experian rose 0.26% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘hold,’ raising its price target from 3,500p to 4,750p.

Miner Rio Tinto inched up 0.04% after confirming it has approached US-based Arcadium Lithium regarding a potential takeover, fueling speculation of further expansion into the lithium sector.

On the downside, precious metals miners struggled as falling gold prices weighed on the sector.

Fresnillo dropped 1.49%, Hochschild Mining fell 2.65%, and Endeavour Mining plunged 5.35%.

Mitie Group also edged down, by 0.34%, despite announcing the acquisition of Spanish security firm Grupo Visegurity for up to €11m.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,303.62 0.28%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,853.21 -0.22%
techMARK (TASX) 4,813.74 -0.04%

FTSE 100 - Risers

NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 354.30p 3.45%
Shell (SHEL) 2,638.00p 2.35%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 226.00p 2.08%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 840.60p 1.52%
Barclays (BARC) 229.65p 1.50%
Prudential (PRU) 719.40p 1.47%
GSK (GSK) 1,480.00p 1.40%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,429.00p 1.31%
BP (BP.) 422.10p 1.26%
BT Group (BT.A) 146.15p 1.14%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 466.20p -3.30%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,101.00p -3.17%
Vistry Group (VTY) 1,273.00p -2.90%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 447.10p -2.80%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 134.80p -2.78%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,108.00p -2.64%
Haleon (HLN) 377.00p -2.48%
Beazley (BEZ) 746.00p -2.42%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 162.40p -2.05%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 357.30p -1.89%

FTSE 250 - Risers

W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 82.80p 4.81%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 405.30p 4.06%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 673.60p 3.63%
Carnival (CCL) 1,266.00p 3.01%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 377.20p 2.84%
SSP Group (SSPG) 158.20p 2.73%
Energean (ENOG) 902.50p 2.67%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 383.40p 2.57%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 112.00p 2.00%
Investec (INVP) 576.50p 1.95%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 628.00p -8.19%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,692.00p -5.63%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 300.50p -3.06%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 151.50p -2.88%
Hilton Food Group (HFG) 885.00p -2.85%
Harworth Group (HWG) 181.00p -2.69%
AJ Bell (AJB) 438.00p -2.67%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 841.00p -2.55%
HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited A Shs (HVPE) 2,305.00p -2.54%
Volution Group (FAN) 591.00p -2.48%