FTSE 100 starts the week higher on boost from commodity-linked stocks

UK’s commodity-focussed FTSE 100 opened the week higher on Monday, helped by elevated oil prices amid fears of an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.

Both the blue-chip FTSE 100 and mid-cap index rose 0.3% each by 0709 GMT.

Asian equities slid and the safe-haven dollar was firm amid heightened anxiety over the escalating violence in Gaza and the prospect the conflict could spread beyond Israel and Hamas into the wider region.

FTSE 100 eases as St James’s Place tumbles

Crude oil prices edged slightly lower but held above $90 a barrel, after surging nearly 6% on Friday. Energy stocks rose 0.6%.

Industrial metal miners jumped 1.3%, tracking higher copper prices.

Among individual stocks, UK water supplier Severn Trent rose 1.7% after Jefferies upgraded the stock to “buy” from “underperform.”