FTSE 100 Rises on Energy Boost; US Election in Focus

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)