LONDON: Britain’s FTSE 100 inched up on Monday, with financial stocks providing support ahead of key US inflation data and UK GDP figures this week that could offer fresh insight into the economic outlook.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.58 percent to 10,614.30 points by 1044 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 climbed 0.21 percent.
Oil prices slip 0.7 percent to USD104.50 a barrel; US President Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine agreed to halt attacks on each other’s energy facilities. Financial heavyweight HSBC Holdings is shifting pay to performance-based bonuses from fixed salaries, Bloomberg reported.
Financial stocks among top gainers: HSBC Holdings, Standard Life, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, NatWest, Standard Chartered gain between 1.2 and 1.9 percent.
Limiting the gains, exhibitions group Informa fall 3 percent, telecom services company Vodafone slip 1.4 percent.