Banking
FTSE 100 rises on energy boost; US election in focus
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on November 4, 2024
2 min readLast updated: January 29, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on November 4, 2024
2 min readLast updated: January 29, 2026
By Pranav Kashyap and Nikhil Sharma
(Reuters) -The UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 rose marginally on Monday, helped by energy shares, while cautious investors braced for the U.S. presidential election and a potential interest rate cut by the Bank of England (BoE) later this week.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 8,184.24 points by 1658 GMT, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 dipped 0.1%.
The heavyweight oil and gas sector rose 0.7% as oil prices jumped more than 2% after a decision by OPEC+ to delay increasing output by a month. [O/R]
The personal goods sector, however, led sectoral gains, driven by an 4.8% jump in Burberry after a report that Italy’s Moncler was considering a bid for the luxury retailer.
The banking sector rose 1.1%, supported by Natwest Group that advanced 2.6% to a 13-year high.
Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election could dictate the outlook for the world economy. Opinion polls suggest Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump are virtually tied in the race to win the White House.
The BoE’s rate-setting meeting on Thursday will also garner attention, as the central bank is widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points.
Both the FTSE indexes logged weekly declines on Friday after the country’s budget raised concerns about inflation pressures building again and potentially slowing the BoE’s monetary easing plans.
Among other stocks, Anglo American eased 0.2% after the miner agreed to sell a 33.3% stake in a joint venture that owns a 70% interest in the Jellinbah East and Lake Vermont steelmaking coal mines in Australia, for A$1.6 billion ($1.1 billion).
(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap and Nikhil Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Barbara Lewis)
The FTSE 100 is a stock market index that represents the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, reflecting the performance of the UK economy.
Interest rates are the cost of borrowing money or the return on savings, expressed as a percentage. They are influenced by central bank policies and economic conditions.
OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is a group of oil-producing nations that coordinates policies to manage oil production and prices.
The Bank of England is the central bank of the UK, responsible for monetary policy, issuing currency, and maintaining financial stability.
Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises, eroding purchasing power.
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