UK Stock Markets Climb as Banks Shine and Oil Prices Retreat on Diplomatic Hopes
London Shares Rally Amid Global Market Optimism
Sept 21 (Reuters) - London shares climbed on Monday, with bank stocks leading gains, as risk appetite worldwide got a lift after oil prices retreated on hopes of diplomatic progress in the Middle East.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.73% to 10,737.66 points by 0932 GMT after declining almost 1.5% in the last session. The midcap FTSE 250 climbed 0.69%.
Sector Performance Highlights
Banks and Financials Lead Gains
• Heavyweight banks were among the top gainers, with HSBC climbing 1.6%, Barclays rising 2.3% and Standard Chartered gaining 2.1%.
Industrial Miners and Commodities
• Industrial miners rose 1.8% as copper prices edged up over optimism regarding resilient Chinese demand. Antofagasta and Anglo American jumped about 3.4%. [MET/L]
Oil Prices and Energy Sector
• Oil prices slid to their lowest in more than a week over hopes for diplomatic progress on the US-Iran war due to this week's UN meeting. Oil majors BP and Shell dipped near 1% each. [O/R]
Impact on Travel and Related Industries
• Falling crude prices also boosted travel-related companies, with airline operator IAG rising more than 1%.
Other Notable Movers
Homebuilders
• Homebuilder Barratt Redrow slipped 2.1% after brokerage Peel Hunt downgraded the stock to "hold" from "add".
Healthcare and Technology
• Healthcare investment firm Syncona leaped 5.7% after its portfolio company Beacon Therapeutics' Phase II/III VISTA trial met US FDA-endorsed primary endpoint for gene therapy laru-zova.
• Craneware plummeted 23% after the healthcare financial software firm cut its full-year revenue outlook.
Market Sentiment and Economic Outlook
Focus on US-China Relations
• Investor focus would be on this week's meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President XI Jinping, seeking clues on trade relations and economic outlook.
• "Hopes of improved relations between the world's two largest economies were boosted by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent describing weekend discussions with Chinese officials as successful," AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said.
Currency and Bond Market Movements
• British government bond yields eased after jumping last week, while the pound dipped 0.1% a week after the Bank of England last week kept interest rates unchanged.
(Reporting by Anand Gopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)
