FTSE finishes higher again during calm start to week’s trading

London’s markets moved steadily higher as investors ignored recent concerns over interest rate rises and the potential for recession.

The top indexes carried on their positivity from Friday as commodity firms witnessed a rebound following a sell-off for large parts of last week.

The FTSE 100 ended the day up 49.51 points, or 0.69%, at 7,258.32.

“Miners were the flavour du jour for London investors as commodity prices inched up,” said Danni Hewson, AJ Bell financial analyst.

“And with rising prices causing more misery at the pump it’s not surprising to see names like Dunelm, Currys and JD Sports taking a hit.

“Whilst many people have already found themselves shelling out over £2 a litre for diesel, the average price is now awfully close to that milestone, just one more essential eating into households’ spare cash.”

In Europe, sentiment was mixed throughout the session as the G7 summit failed to make a significant dent on trading sentiment.

The German Dax increased by 0.67% by the end of the session, while the French Cac fell 0.18%.

Across the Atlantic, Wall Street was also cautious and the main markets started the session marginally lower.

Meanwhile, sterling was also gripped by nerves among traders, moving only slightly.

The pound was up 0.01% against the dollar at 1.230 and was down 0.08% against the euro at 1.160.

In company news, fintech firm Wise closed in the red after it confirmed its co-founder and chief executive is being investigated by the City watchdog over his status as a so-called deliberate tax defaulter.

Wise said the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched an inquiry into Kristo Kaarmann’s “regulatory obligations and standards”.

Shares in the company slipped by 8.4p to 373.1p following the announcement.

Elsewhere, residential care operators Caretech leapt in value after it agreed to a £870 million takeover by a consortium including the brothers who founded the firm.

The Hertfordshire-based company told shareholders it agreed to the buyout by Amalfi – the consortium including founders Haroun and Farouq Sheikh -after they sweetened a previous approach in an effort to shake off rival interest from a private equity firm.

Caretech was 129p higher at 741p at the close of play.

Imperial Leather manufacturer PZ Cussons made gains after it said it is on track for full-year like-for-like sales to lift 3%, but cautioned that trading conditions remain “challenging”.

Shares increased by 3.6p to 201p as the group said trading in the latest quarter was “in line with expectations”.

The price of oil lifted amid a gradual rise in US output, while concerns over the impact of an economic slowdown were parked for the session.

Brent crude increased by 1.65% to 114.99 US dollars per barrel when the London markets closed.

The biggest risers in the FTSE 100 were Antofagasta, up 38.5p at 1,223p, Standard Chartered, up 16.4p at 605.8p, Prudential, up 22.8p at 1,009p, Severn Trent, up 64p at 2,853p, and United Utilities, up 23p at 1,035p.

The biggest fallers of the day were Abrdn, down 4.1p at 166.85p, Burberry Group, down 34p at 1,564p, BT, down 3.55p at 184.95p, Ocado, down 10.6p at 860p, and Sage Group, down 4.8p at 641.6p.