London stocks climb, energy shares keep gains in check

By Shubham Batra

(Reuters) – The UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 index rose on Monday, led by travel and leisure shares as Trainline jumped following a guidance upgrade, but remained under some selling pressure from energy shares tracking lower oil prices.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.2% by 0900 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 rose 0.4%.

Travel and leisure sector rose 2% after the online train ticket seller Trainline advanced 10.5%. The company raised its full-year revenue forecast and now expects annual revenue to grow 11%-13%, up from an earlier view of the top-end of 7%-11% range.

Shares of EasyJet and British Airways-owner IAG were up by 4.1% and 2.5%, respectively, boosted by the prospect of lower fuel costs.

London stocks ended the week with losses on Friday as investors assessed a mixed bag of earnings and investors awaited the first budget from the country’s new government On Oct. 30.

Energy shares tumbled 1.8% as oil prices slid more than $3 a barrel after Israel’s retaliatory strike on Iran over the weekend bypassed Tehran’s oil and nuclear facilities and did not disrupt energy supplies. [O/R]

Both BP and Shell were down nearly 1.7% each, weighing on the index.

Hurting gains further, precious metal miners were down 1.3% tracking lower gold prices against a stronger U.S. dollar.

Meanwhile, British business confidence sank to a four-month low in October ahead of the first budget plan from the country’s new government, a survey showed on Monday, echoing other signs of corporate nervousness about possible tax increases.

Investors are squarely-focussed on the budget scheduled for Oct. 30 where UK’s finance minister Rachel Reeves faces a tough task of raising the tax revenues needed to invest more in public services and new infrastructure.

(Reporting by Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)