Finance
FTSE 100 closes higher on boost from banks, industrials
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 8, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 8, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
FTSE 100 rose 0.1% on Monday, driven by gains in bank and industrial stocks, while consumer staples and healthcare stocks declined.
(Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 edged higher on Monday, led by industrials and bank stocks, while losses in consumer staples and healthcare kept gains in check.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed up 0.1%, while the domestically-focused mid-cap index added 0.5%.
Boosting the FTSE 100, bank 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 advanced, tracking higher gold prices. Fresnillo gained 2.8%. [GOL/]
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%.
On the flip side, 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.
The insurer said it would rebrand as Standard Life in March 2026, and reported a larger-than-expected decline in book value driven by market fluctuations.
Beverages lost 2.4%, with spirits maker Diageo down 3.6%.
Some consumer staples stocks declined. Unilever fell 1.5%, among the worst performers on the benchmark index.
In other moves, Marks & Spencer 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 said U.S. private equity firm KKR has joined its formal sale process, but has not made an offer for the company.
Homebuilder Vistry gained 1.7% after signing a joint venture partnership with the UK's housing and regeneration agency Homes England to develop community homes.
Meanwhile, surveys showed British employers offered the lowest pay settlements in more than three-and-a-half years in July and hiring continued to slow.
The figures highlight businesses' fears of another round of tax rises in finance minister Rachel Reeves' November 26 budget.
Additionally, HSBC and Deutsche Bank pushed back their forecasts for Bank of England interest rate cuts, citing persistently high inflation and growing uncertainty over the timing of monetary easing.
The BoE is expected to hold rates steady at its policy meeting next week.
(Reporting by Sukriti Gupta; Editing by Shreya Biswas and Paul Simao)
The FTSE 100 was boosted primarily by bank stocks, which rose 1.1%, and industrials, with notable gains from companies like Rolls-Royce and Experian.
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors faced declines, with healthcare stocks down 1% and significant losses from companies like AstraZeneca and Unilever.
Surveys indicated that British employers offered the lowest pay settlements in over three years, raising fears of potential tax increases in the upcoming budget.
HSBC and Deutsche Bank have pushed back their forecasts for Bank of England interest rate cuts, citing high inflation and uncertainty regarding monetary easing.
The life insurers index fell by 0.5%, primarily due to a significant decline in Phoenix Group's stock, which dropped 7.6%.
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