London close: FTSE 100 jabs higher as retail rebounds, sterling weakens
Equities in London went for a jog higher on Monday, helped mostly by rebounding retail stocks and sterling weakness, the latter on the back of UK political turmoil surrounding the election and Brexit coming to the fore.
The swirl of unease was today centred on PM Theresa May's 'dementia tax' climb-down, while Brexit Secretary David Davis stoked the embers of EU divorce at the weekend.
At the close of play, the FTSE 100 was up 0.34% to 7,496.34, and the FTSE 250 was up 0.50% to 19,912.55. European stock markets were mixed, and Wall St had got off to an upbeat start.
"Sterling's euro-troubles allowed the FTSE to maintain its early gains," said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex.
At 16:36 BST, sterling was down 0.25% to $1.3004, and it fell 0.48% to €1.1578. Sterling weakness tends to benefit the index, as about 70% of its constituents derive their earnings from overseas.
"The DAX and CAC weren't quite as enthused as their UK counterpart," he added, noting that in the US the Dow Jones had "burst into life" after the opening bell.
"It seems that a day or two of quiet is enough to cause investors to pour back into the Dow, despite the Trump/Russia/Comey saga being far from over."
Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, added that it was worth considering that while sterling was among the worst performing currencies on Monday, its losses on the dollar should be seen in the context of Friday's gains.
"The political storm at home is unlikely to go away but it may take a bit more of a backseat this week. We will hear from two voting members of the FOMC today, with Neel Kashkari and Patrick Harker both scheduled to make appearances," he added.
Turning back to London, retail-related stocks were performing very well, with supermarkets and high-street purveyors floating towards the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard.
Marks & Spencer, Burberry, Tesco, Sainsbury, Next, Morrison and Unilever were all strongly up.
"UK retailers are putting in a steady performance despite sterling weakness," said George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"Investors will be hoping that favourable economic data, and the warmer, dryer weather most of the country has enjoyed recently, can provide a boost ahead of a swathe of results," he said.
"The sector has taken a beating since the referendum vote, and so value investors will still be sniffing around."
Other FTSE 100 sectors doing well on Monday were utilities, tobacco, commercial property and house builders, the latter thanks to Rightmove's latest house price survey.
Resources majors were eclipsed by these sectors despite the metals and crude prices firming as the US dollar continued to beat a hasty retreat.
In corporate news, AstraZeneca nudged up after announcing the sale of its European rights to a hypertension and angina treatment for a sum of $300m plus royalties and a percentage of sales.
RBS was in the black following news it has doubled its offer to disgruntled shareholders suing the bank over a 2008 rights issue only hours before a High Court case was due to start.
Intertek was boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' at Kepler Cheuvreux, but Micro Focus took a hit after Credit Suisse cut the stock to 'underperform'.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,496.34 0.34%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,912.55 0.50%
techMARK (TASX) 3,601.15 0.28%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 395.50p 2.75%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,756.00p 2.45%
Merlin Entertainments (MERL) 525.50p 2.24%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,560.00p 2.15%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,256.00p 2.14%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 306.00p 2.00%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,152.00p 1.86%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 224.35p 1.84%
Whitbread (WTB) 4,250.00p 1.72%
SSE (SSE) 1,534.00p 1.66%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,656.00p -4.61%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 2,381.00p -3.68%
Worldpay Group (WPG) 314.10p -2.42%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 347.30p -1.25%
Prudential (PRU) 1,735.50p -1.17%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 255.60p -0.74%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,085.50p -0.69%
Royal Mail (RMG) 425.50p -0.68%
GKN (GKN) 351.20p -0.65%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 3,439.00p -0.61%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 169.50p 4.24%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 302.00p 3.96%
Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 447.10p 3.88%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 288.50p 3.85%
ZPG Plc (ZPG) 369.80p 3.59%
Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 606.00p 3.41%
SIG (SHI) 144.00p 3.30%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 218.00p 3.22%
TR Property Inv Trust (TRY) 347.60p 2.81%
Redefine International (RDI) 38.50p 2.64%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Senior (SNR) 229.90p -2.87%
Greencore Group (GNC) 227.30p -1.81%
Paysafe Group (PAYS) 474.60p -1.78%
Just Group (JUST) 132.80p -1.70%
Vectura Group (VEC) 121.30p -1.70%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 646.00p -1.45%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 6,800.00p -1.38%
Galliford Try (GFRD) 1,255.00p -1.34%
Indivior (INDV) 318.80p -1.30%
Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.) 306.00p -1.29%