Pound drops while oil prices soar in choppy day for global markets
7 October 2024, 17:44
Banks and oil giants were helping lift the FTSE 100 on Monday, which moved up 22.99 points, or 0.28%, to close at 8,303.62.
London’s FTSE 100 has moved higher after a mixed day of trading for global markets, while the pound has dropped to a three-week low against the US dollar amid expectations of further interest rate cuts.
Banks and oil giants were helping lift the FTSE 100 on Monday, which moved up 22.99 points, or 0.28%, to close at 8,303.62.
Fresh data from Halifax showed property values in the UK have risen, coming within about £100 of a record high in September.
A housing market rebound comes after the Bank of England cut UK interest rates in August, but left them on hold in September.
Expectations of the next rate reduction coming in November have grown after the Bank’s Governor, Andrew Bailey, said last week that “more aggressive” cuts could be on the way.
The pound dropped by about 0.25% against the US dollar on Monday, at 1.31, the lowest value in more than three weeks. Sterling was also down 0.4% against the euro, at 1.192.
It was a mixed session for other European stock markets, with Germany’s Dax down 0.09%, and France’s Cac 40 closing 0.46% higher.
Over in the US, the S&P 500 was down 0.35% and Dow Jones 0.5% lower by the time European markets closed.
The price of Brent crude oil soared by 3.3% to about 80.60 US dollars per barrel on Monday.
In company news, shares in Shell moved higher amid rising oil prices and after the energy company lifted its guidance for liquified natural gas production.
Shell’s third-quarter integrated gas profits are likely to match the second quarter, when it made 2.675 billion dollars (£2.04 billion). Shares in Shell closed 2.4% higher.
Elsewhere, residential landlord Grainger said rents grew by 6.3% over the year to September, which it said was being “underpinned” by its customers enjoying higher wages.
The company said it was “fully let” across its houses, with 97.4% occupancy as at the end of last month. Its share price closed 2% lower.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Natwest Group, up 11.8p to 354.3p, Shell, up 60.5p to 2,638p, ConvaTec, up 4.6p to 226p, Standard Chartered, up 12.6p to 840.6p, and Barclays, up 3.4p to 229.65p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Endeavour Mining, down 101p to 1,692p, Smith & Nephew, down 36p to 1,101p, JD Sports, down 4.35p to 134.3p, Vistry, down 38p to 1,273p, and Melrose Industries, down 12.9p to 447.1p.
