FTSE 100 Rises as Banks and Industrials Drive Gains

FTSE Futures

Britain’s FTSE 100 saw a slight increase on Monday, driven by gains in industrials and banking sectors, although declines in consumer staples and healthcare sectors limited the overall progress.
The blue-chip index closed up 0.1%, while the domestically-focused mid-cap index added 0.5%. Boosting the FTSE 100, stocks rose 1.1%, bouncing back following a slide on Friday, with top lenders Standard Chartered, NatWest, and Barclays among the top performers on the benchmark index.

  • Precious metal miners are tracking higher gold prices.
  • Fresnillo opens new tab gained 2.8%.
  • Industrials advanced with Rolls-Royce up 1.6%, Experian gaining 1.5%, and Ashtead rising 1%. Personal goods stocks rose 3.1%, with Burberry gaining 3.7%.
  • Healthcare stocks declined 1%.
  • Heavyweight AstraZeneca edged 0.9% lower.
  • The life insurers index fell 0.5%, weighed down by Phoenix Group, which fell 7.6% to the bottom of the FTSE 100.
  • Beverages lost 2.4%, with spirits maker Diageo down 3.6%.

The insurer announced plans to rebrand as Standard Life in March 2026, while also revealing a more significant decline in book value than anticipated, attributed to market fluctuations. There was a decline in certain consumer staples stocks. Unilever opens new tab fell 1.5%, among the worst performers on the benchmark index. In other moves, Marks & Spencer opened new tab rose 2.9%, to top the FTSE 100, after Citi upgraded the retailer to “buy” from “neutral”.

PRS REIT rose 5.5% after the real estate investment trust announced that U.S. private equity firm KKR has joined its formal sale process, but has not made an offer for the company. Homebuilder Vistry opens new tab gained 1.7% after signing a joint venture partnership with the UK’s housing and regeneration agency Homes England to develop community homes. At the same time, surveys indicated that British employers provided the lowest pay settlements in over three-and-a-half years during July, while the pace of hiring continued to decelerate.

The data underscores the concerns among businesses regarding the possibility of additional tax increases in the upcoming budget presented by finance minister Rachel Reeves on November 26.
Furthermore, HSBC and Deutsche Bank have revised their predictions regarding the Bank of England’s interest rate reductions, pointing to ongoing high inflation and increasing uncertainty about when monetary easing might occur. The Bank of England is anticipated to maintain its current interest rates during the upcoming policy meeting next week.