(Reuters) -Britain’s FTSE 100 closed higher on Monday, propelled by gains in healthcare and defence stocks, while investors kept a watch on U.S.-brokered peace talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 finished 0.2% up after dipping earlier in the session. However, the benchmark was still well below Friday’s intraday record high.
The midcap FTSE 250 ended little changed.
Geopolitics dominated market sentiment as investors awaited U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders, due later in the day.
Trump is pressing for a quick end to the Russia-Ukraine war, with Kyiv and its allies fearing pressure to accept terms favoring Moscow after his Friday’s summit with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Energy sector, which closed 0.5% lower, remained in focus, with oil markets being sensitive to Washington’s signals on secondary sanctions on Russian oil. [O/R]
Heavy-weight healthcare shares primarily drove Monday’s advances, rising 1.2%.
Aerospace and defence sector began the week on a strong footing, advancing 1.2%, with Babcock International Group jumping 5.3% after brokerage firm RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage at “outperform” rating.
Meanwhile, industrial metal mining companies weakened 2.2%, as a stronger U.S. dollar weighed on metal prices.
A gauge of Britain’s homebuilders closed near 1% lower after a survey showed that asking prices for newly advertised British properties fell in the four weeks to mid-August, though less notably than in previous months. July sales reached their highest level for that time of year since 2020.
Looking ahead, investors await Wednesday’s crucial UK inflation report, which could provide greater clarity on the country’s economic health.
Additionally, global markets will focus on Thursday’s Jackson Hole symposium, where U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell may offer insights into future interest rate directions for the world’s largest economy.
Among single stocks, bootmaker Dr Martens gained 8.5% after brokerage firm Peel Hunt upgraded the stock to “buy” from “add”.
(Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed and Vijay Kishore)
