The FTSE 100 was marginally higher on Monday as London failed to keep pace with a global equity rally that sees US indices at fresh record highs.
London’s leading index was around 10 points higher at the time of writing.
“Like a teenager still adjusting to being back at school, the FTSE 100’s recent lethargy continued as the index traded lower at the start of the new trading week,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“US indices may have clawed their way to new record highs last Friday and the Nikkei 225 bounced back on Monday, but UK stocks were held back by weakness in the telecoms, retail and airline sector.”
The FTSE 100 is taking a shine to the 9,200 – 9,260 region, with the index trading within this tight range for most of last week, despite a raft of central bank action and mixed economic data.
While the FTSE 100’s consolidation above 9,200 will be welcome after 11% gains so far this year, recent gains in other geographies, especially the US, make London’s recent performance a little disappointing.
The lack of tech shares and weighting towards defensive sectors is responsible for the index not sharing in the optimism evident in other markets.
“The combination of structural value drivers from the Artificial Intelligence boom and higher than expected resilience within the global economy is helping investor confidence to keep its head above water,” explained Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown.
In terms of FTSE 100 movers on Monday, miners were once again dominating at the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard, with precious metals miners leading the way.
Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining were the top two risers as the gold price surpassed $3,700. Precious metals are enjoying bumper margins, and investors are positioning for further profit growth from the pair in their next updates.
Diversified miners were strong after a rally in Asia. Rio Tinto added 2% and Glencore rose 1.8%.
JD Sports was 1% lower as the sports retailer continued to fall away from the 100p mark ahead of H1 2026 results on Wednesday.
M&G was the FTSE 100 top faller with a 1.8% drop.