London close: Stocks rise at start of busy week

London markets closed with gains on Monday as investors exercised caution ahead of key events later in the week.

The FTSE 100 index edged up 0.41% to reach 7,943.47 points, while the FTSE 250 rose 0.65% to settle at 19,854.58 points.

The positive performance came amid anticipation surrounding the European Central Bank’s policy announcement and the start of the US earnings season in the coming days.

In currency markets, sterling was last up 0.13% on the dollar, trading at $1.2654, while it remained steady against the euro to change hands at €1.1661.

“The Nikkei 225 rallied , with European stock indices playing catch-up despite US bond yields rising to four-and-a-half month highs, putting a dampener on the advance in their domestic market,” said IG senior market analyst Axel Rudolph.

“Quiet post non-farm payrolls trading ahead of Wednesday’s US FOMC minutes and CPI print dominated the trading session.

“German exports dropping by more than expected and industrial output growth topping forecasts weren’t closely followed by traders earlier in the day.”

Rudolph added that, while gold prices hit another record high and silver prices traded at levels last seen in June 2021, oil prices dropped by more than one percentage point on easing tensions in the Middle East.

“While Israel is removing troops from Southern Gaza it has also resumed peace talks with Hamas in Egypt.”

Eurozone investor sentiment improves, German industrial production grows faster

In economic news, eurozone investor sentiment showed a notable improvement in April, marking the sixth consecutive month of gains, according to a closely-watched survey.

The Sentix index for the euro area climbed to -5.9 points in April from -10.5 points in March, surpassing expectations of -8.5 points and reaching its highest level since February 2022.

Additionally, the eurozone expectations index rose to 5.0 points in April from -2.3 points in March, marking the seventh consecutive month of increases and reaching its highest level since February 2022.

“Will there finally be a sustainable economic upturn? At least the economic recovery in the eurozone and worldwide is continuing,” Sentix said in a statement.

“The economic signals are also stabilising internationally.

“The upturn is also gaining breadth internationally – across all regions, with the exception of Austria, we are measuring improvements in the economic situation and expectations.”

Meanwhile, data from Destatis showed that industrial production in Germany saw its fastest growth rate in over a year in February, driven by a strong performance in the construction sector.

Industrial production surged by 2.1% in February, marking the second consecutive monthly increase following a revised 1.3% uptick in January.

February’s growth far exceeded economists’ expectations of a 0.3% increase, representing the swiftest monthly expansion since January last year.

Despite a 4.9% decline compared to the previous year, which was an improvement from January’s 5.3% drop, February’s production figures showcased resilience.

Notably, construction output soared by 7.9% in February, offsetting a 6.5% decline in energy production.

Excluding those factors, overall industrial production would still have risen by 1.9% from January, driven by robust performances in the automotive and chemical sectors.

In contrast, German exports experienced a setback in February, declining by 2% to €132.9 billion, disappointing analysts who had anticipated a milder 0.5% decrease.

Entain jumps on takeover speculation, retailers decline

On London’s equity markets, Entain surged 4.7% following reports in the Times suggesting potential interest from private equity firm Apollo in making a takeover offer for some or all of the business.

Precious metals miners Fresnillo and Hochschild Mining saw gains of 2.58% and 5.37% respectively, as gold prices advanced.

Mining giants Rio Tinto and Anglo American also recorded positive movements, rising by 4.21% and 3.21% respectively.

Rio Tinto drew additional attention with the appointment of Bold Baatar as its chief commercial officer, succeeding Alf Barrios, to oversee its global commercial and business development operations.

On the downside, Ocado Group and Marks & Spencer Group both experienced losses, falling 1.21% and 2.15% respectively.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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