London open: Rolls-Royce paces the advance after contract win

At 0915 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 7,081.43.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "There were plenty of factors to trouble investors as the new trading week kicked off, yet there certainly isn’t panic in the air.

"Evergrande’s problems have not gone away, inflation remains problematic for many companies and is hurting profit margins, and Germany’s elections failed to produce a clear winner which means short-term uncertainty until a coalition can be agreed. Nonetheless, investors remain committed to seeking more opportunities in the markets.

"The Brent crude oil price continued to rally, rising 1.2% to $79.03 a barrel on supply concerns and putting it back at levels not seen since October 2018. That helped put Royal Dutch Shell’s share price at its highest level since March 2020, although it is still some way off its levels seen pre-Covid.

"Many investors, including big asset managers, will be kicking themselves that they shunned oil stocks as part of a global shift towards more ESG-friendly companies. Despite the transition to renewable energy around the world, it is clear oil is still needed in today’s world."

In equity markets, Rolls-Royce was the standout gainer after the aerospace engineer won a £1.9bn deal to supply parts for the US Air Force’s (USAF) fleet of B-52 bombers for the next 30 years.

Prudential was also in the black after it raised $2.4bn from its raising in Hong Kong after offering new shares in the company at HK$143.80 (£13.51) each.

Cineworld was the standout gainer on the FTSE 250, up more than 10% as the latest Bond film was due to hit cinemas this week.

IWG was also a high riser after Sky News reported over the weekend that the serviced offices company was exploring a multibillion pound break-up that would involve splitting it into several distinct companies.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,081.43 0.42%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,731.12 0.52%
techMARK (TASX) 4,726.53 0.19%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 139.60p 5.36%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 182.50p 3.93%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,523.00p 2.70%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,567.40p 2.55%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,565.80p 2.39%
BP (BP.) 326.85p 2.08%
Prudential (PRU) 1,420.50p 2.05%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,430.00p 1.69%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,865.00p 1.59%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,745.00p 1.48%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Halma (HLMA) 2,997.00p -1.61%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,415.50p -1.53%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,364.00p -1.52%
Evraz (EVR) 570.40p -1.31%
Entain (ENT) 2,181.00p -1.31%
Croda International (CRDA) 8,734.00p -1.20%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,980.00p -1.12%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 15,825.00p -1.09%
Experian (EXPN) 3,255.00p -0.79%
Rightmove (RMV) 713.40p -0.75%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Cineworld Group (CINE) 79.30p 10.88%
IWG (IWG) 304.50p 6.21%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 5,352.00p 4.45%
easyJet (EZJ) 709.40p 4.23%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 215.10p 4.06%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,781.00p 4.03%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 232.00p 3.66%
Carnival (CCL) 1,735.20p 3.09%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 355.20p 3.08%
Drax Group (DRX) 506.00p 2.68%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Darktrace (DARK) 853.00p -6.16%
Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) 2,165.00p -2.26%
Reach (RCH) 368.50p -1.60%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 1,536.00p -1.54%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 255.50p -1.35%
Genuit Group (GEN) 717.00p -1.24%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 3,135.00p -1.10%
IMI (IMI) 1,800.00p -1.10%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 10,750.00p -1.01%
IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 539.50p -1.01%