By Sruthi Shankar
(Reuters) – Britain’s main equity index rose on Monday, led by banking stocks, as investors continued to bet on rising interest rates globally, while stronger commodity prices lifted mining shares.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.3%, with global miners Anglo American and Rio Tinto providing the biggest boost, as aluminium prices in China jumped 3%, while Shanghai steel and iron ore futures also rose on hopes of economic stimulus. [IRONORE/] [MET/L]
HSBC, Barclays and Lloyds Group rose about 1% each, extending last week’s winning run.
A rally in oil and banking sectors helped the FTSE 100 index buck weakness in global markets and post a weekly gain on Friday, as oil prices hit seven-year high and the Bank of England raised rates last week to fight inflationary pressures.
While oil major Shell gained 0.4% after multiple brokerages raised price targets, BP slipped 1.0% after hitting March 2020 highs in the previous session.
“A low tech exposure, high energy/resources and large cap weighting has insulated the UK equity market from the worst of the January global rout,” Jefferies analysts wrote in a note.
“Whilst cost pressures both at the consumer and corporate levels are hurting headline confidence and margins, the underlying data points are much more bullish.”
The domestically-focussed midcap index climbed 0.3%, after ending marginally higher last week.
British homebuilders dipped 0.7% after data from Halifax showed house prices in January rose at their slowest monthly pace since last June.
Taylor Wimpey slipped 0.8%, as it named company insider Jennie Daly as its next chief executive officer, two months after one of its largest shareholders called for an outsider to lead Britain’s third largest homebuilder.
Reckitt Benckiser inched up 0.5% after Bloomberg News reported that the consumer goods giant was considering options for its infant nutrition business, including a potential sale.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Rashmi Aich)
