London markets rebound strongly while pound slips

London’s top stock indexes rallied on Monday as UK multinationals were supported by the weaker pound.

An improvement in trading sentiment in Asia helped drive a positive start to the session in London, which firmed up later after a positive Wall Street opening.

It helped the FTSE to offset its notable drop seen in Friday’s previous trading session.

The FTSE 100 finished 89.37 points, or 1.09%, higher to end the day at 8,270.84.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: “Stocks have rebounded on the first day of the new week, providing a sharp contrast with the gloom that prevailed on Friday.

“The FTSE 100 has put its best foot forward this afternoon, rallying through Friday’s highs thanks to a solid performance from HSBC.

“China’s overnight inflation data has not dented enthusiasm for the bank’s shares, while a recovering oil price helped Shell to make headway too.”

Elsewhere in Europe, the main markets were also higher, with the French Cac 40 rising despite Gucci owner Kering dropping to a seven-year low amid fears of weak demand in China.

The Cac 40 ended 0.99% higher for the day and the Dax index was up 0.77% at the close.

Stateside, US tech stocks opened particularly strongly on Monday, with Palantir and Dell among notable climbers.

Meanwhile, sterling dipped to a three-week low against the dollar ahead of key UK unemployment and wage data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday.

The pound was down 0.3% at 1.309 US dollars, and was up 0.07% at 1.185 euro.

In company news, housebuilder Barratt was in the green after joining forces with Lloyds Banking Group and Government body Homes England to launch a tie-up with aims to build tens of thousands of houses across the UK.

The joint venture – called Made Partnership – will focus on large sites, including so-called brownfield developments, as well as new garden village-style communities.

Shares in Barratt increased by 0.6% to 495.6p on Monday as a result.

Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain was among the strongest risers after it said online gaming sales have risen faster than expected in recent months.

The betting and gaming giant said it witnessed further progress in the US through its BetMGM app as it benefited from popular sporting events, such as the start of 2024 National Football League (NFL) season in the US.

Entain finished the session up 5.3% at 673.2p.

Shares in restaurant firm Hostmore were almost wiped out during the session as TGI Fridays’ UK owner looks set to be wound down after revealing it had dropped plans to buy the US restaurant chain for £177 million.

Shares collapsed by 90.8% to 0.87p at the close.

The price of oil edged back higher but remained close to its lowest for over a year due to demand concerns and continued tensions in the middle east.

A barrel of Brent crude oil was up by 0.42% to 71.13 US dollars (£54.33) as markets were closing in London.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Entain, up 33.8p to 673.2p, Melrose Industries, up 18.8p to 472.1p, Diploma, up 126p to 4,424p, Rolls-Royce, up 12.9p to 475.6p, and Croda, up 104p to 3,972p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Burberry, down 29.4p to 575p, Pearson, down 15p to 1,058.5p, Reckitt, down 52p to 4,486p, AB Foods, down 24p to 2,180p, and Prudential, down 6.4p to 613.6p.