London midday: FTSE extends gains ahead of US election, policy announcements

(Sharecast News) - London stocks had extended gains by midday on Monday as investors eyed a busy week that includes the US presidential election and policy announcements in the UK and across the pond. The FTSE 100 was up 0.7% at 8,233.79.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Investors are bracing for a week of potential volatility, with the highly fractious US Presidential election in focus and key interest rate decisions looming. For now, the FTSE 100 has shaken off nervousness and opened in the green, making fresh gains after Friday's recovery.

"As Republicans and Democrats embark on a last-minute surge of campaigning, some of the big Trump 'plays' on the markets have lost ground. Investors are reassessing Donald Trump's chances of re-entering the White House, given polls which emerged over the weekend, indicating Kamala Harris may have gained ground in key battle ground states."

As far as central bank announcements are concerned, Streeter said the chances of borrowing costs coming down in the US this week "look bolted on", given the much weaker than expected jobs data on Friday.

"Markets are largely expecting a follow up 0.25% cut in December, but will be watching comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell to back up those expectations," she added.

The BoE is also widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points on Thursday.

In equity markets, Shell and BP gushed higher after OPEC+ said it would to delay hikes in output by another month.

NatWest was boosted by an upgrade to 'outperform' from 'market perform' at KBW.

Frasers Group gained as RBC Capital Markets upgraded the shares to 'outperform' from 'sector perform'. It said the current valuation fails to discount the likely resilience of its Sports Retail business, its property value and its strategic stakes, for instance in Hugo Boss.

Burberry shot higher after online fashion publication Miss Tweed suggested over the weekend that Italy's Moncler could be considering a bid for the luxury fashion brand.

Anglo American rose as it announced the A$1.6bn (£0.8bn) sale of a stake in the Jellinbah joint venture in Australia as part of its strategy to exit the steelmaking coal industry.

Ryanair was in focus as the airline cut its full-year traffic forecast and reported a drop in first-half profits, as it took a hit from lower fares and Boeing delays.

Reckitt Benckiser was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'market perform' at Bernstein, while Smith & Nephew fell after Jefferies slashed its price target on the shares.

Fresnillo lost its shine after a downgrade to 'hold' from 'buy' at Canaccord Genuity, which pointed to a strong run over the past three to six months.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,233.79 0.69% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,560.50 0.39% techMARK (TASX) 4,649.08 0.10%

FTSE 100 - Risers

NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 388.20p 3.44% Frasers Group (FRAS) 785.00p 2.35% BT Group (BT.A) 143.10p 2.03% Barclays (BARC) 244.70p 1.70% BP (BP.) 384.55p 1.68% Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 55.32p 1.65% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 125.60p 1.62% Prudential (PRU) 653.40p 1.46% Shell (SHEL) 2,616.50p 1.45% Tesco (TSCO) 353.00p 1.44%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,080.00p -1.28% Beazley (BEZ) 764.50p -1.16% Smith & Nephew (SN.) 957.20p -0.99% Fresnillo (FRES) 728.50p -0.95% Rightmove (RMV) 596.40p -0.77% Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 17,835.00p -0.75% IMI (IMI) 1,660.00p -0.72% Sage Group (SGE) 978.60p -0.65% CRH (CDI) (CRH) 7,380.00p -0.59% Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 4,969.00p -0.50%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Burberry Group (BRBY) 852.40p 4.98% Ocado Group (OCDO) 363.20p 3.77% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 119.50p 2.75% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 57.05p 2.15% Indivior (INDV) 724.50p 2.11% Harworth Group (HWG) 178.50p 2.00% Future (FUTR) 898.00p 1.93% Trainline (TRN) 394.80p 1.70% TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 170.80p 1.67% GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd (GCP) 74.10p 1.65%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 336.80p -2.09% Trustpilot Group (TRST) 249.00p -1.19% Baillie Gifford Japan Trust (BGFD) 695.00p -1.14% Close Brothers Group (CBG) 230.00p -0.86% Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 629.00p -0.79% Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) 335.50p -0.74% Bellway (BWY) 2,792.00p -0.71% RIT Capital Partners (RCP) 1,818.00p -0.66% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 228.50p -0.65% QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 460.00p -0.65%