London stocks kick start the week higher on rising Fed cut bets

UK shares started the week on a positive note on rising bets that the US Federal Reserve will start cutting rates as early as March, although downbeat corporate earnings forecasts capped gains.

Both the blue-chip FTSE 100 and the mid-cap FTSE 250 index climbed 0.2%, as of 0810 GMT.

Oil and gas shares added 0.7% on higher crude prices as traders watched for supply disruption risks in the Middle East.

Investors will look forward to British consumer price inflation data and retail sales figures for the month of December, both due later this week.

Across the Atlantic, business activity data for the month of January and December retail sales from the US will also be on investors’ radar.

FTSE 100 ends higher

In corporate news, shares of PageGroup fell 1.8% after the global recruiter trimmed its annual profit forecast. British homebuilder Crest Nicholson cut its annual profit forecast, taking its shares lower by 3.6%.