The FTSE 100 rose on Monday as traders bought the dip in miners and solid trading in Asia at the start of the week helped lift confidence.
London’s leading index was 0.2% higher at the time of writing.
“The FTSE 100 ticked higher at the start of the new trading week amid robust gains across Asia,” said AJ Bell head of markets Dan Coatsworth.
“Investors seem willing to park any concerns about the ongoing crisis in the Middle East as last week’s softer-than-anticipated inflation numbers saw fears of an imminent rate hike from the US Federal Reserve subside. Combined with strong earnings from the tech space and you’ve had the conditions necessary for a healthy pick-up in sentiment.”
US futures were pointing to a marginally higher start to trade on Monday after the S&P 500 closed at a record high last week. Volatility in tech shares has eased, helping lift confidence globally.
After a series of bruising sessions last week, the FTSE 100’s miners were back among the gainers as rising metals prices piqued interest in the sector.
“Copper prices in particular are rising higher on expectations of constrained supply and resilient demand, given how sought after the metal is across multiple sectors from electrification to AI,” said Susannah Streeter, Chief Investment Strategist, Wealth Club.
“The build-out of data centres is adding to the appetite for copper, but so are power grids, electric vehicles and the wider energy transition. However, supply can’t be switched on at the flick of a switch, and major new mining projects can take a decade or more to permit, finance and build, while existing operations are vulnerable to everything from extreme weather to ageing infrastructure.”
Glencore rose 1.2% while Rio Tinto added 1.3%. Anglo American was the best-performing diversified miner, jumping 2.3%.
Precious metals miners Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo enjoyed rising gold prices, both rising above 2%.
Prudential was the FTSE 100’s top riser, with a 2.1% rise.
UK-focused shares were the main drag on the index, with Babcock at the bottom of the leaderboard, down 2.5%. Sainsbury’s lost 2.4% while JD Sports gave up 2.4%.
Tesco and Marks & Spencer were also lower.