ABC.L Share News (ABC)

(Alliance News) - London stocks started the week on a positive note as the pound softened ahead of the result of a Conservative leadership election which will decide who becomes the next British prime minister. A higher oil price was also lifting the FTSE 100 as tensions in the Middle East ratcheted up again over the weekend.The large-cap FTSE 100 index was 23.64 points higher, or up 0.3%, at 7,532.34 Monday midday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 27.16 points, or 0.1%, at 19,649.34, while the AIM All-Share was 0.1% higher at 914.87.The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.3% at 12,768.80. The Cboe UK 250 was up 0.2% at 17,538.80, while the Cboe UK Small Companies was flat at 11,048.28.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 index in Paris and DAX 30 in Frankfurt were both up 0.1% in afternoon trade."European markets are making early gains today, with the region outperforming their Asian counterparts thanks to early declines in the euro and pound," commented Joshua Mahony at IG.He explained: "The pound has been on the rise since parliament voted for a bill which would help avoid Boris Johnson proroguing parliament in an attempt to force through a no-deal Brexit. However, with the new leader being appointed this week, markets are facing up to the fact that a no-deal Brexit cannot be ruled out despite parliament's clear disdain of such an event."Johnson is widely expected to defeat Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt to become the next leader of the Conservative party when the result of the contest is announced on Tuesday.In a further sign of the difficulties he will face in uniting a bitterly divided Tory party, Alan Duncan - an outspoken opponent of Johnson - has quit as a Foreign Office minister before the incoming prime minister takes office.His resignation will not be the last, with Chancellor Philip Hammond and Justice Secretary David Gauke having already confirmed they will quit rather than be sacked by Johnson.His resignation came after Johnson restated his firm intention to get the UK out of the EU by the end of October, claiming a deal with Brussels could be reached if the country has the "will" and the "drive" for Brexit.Sterling was quoted at USD1.2467 at midday on Monday, down from USD1.2507 late Friday.Also helping the FTSE 100 at the start of the week were oil stocks amid an escalation of tensions between Iran and the UK. Iran said Sunday the fate of a British-flagged tanker it is refusing to hand back after seizing it in the Gulf depends on the cooperation of its crew with an investigation.The Stena Impero was impounded with its 23 crew members aboard at the port of Bandar Abbas after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized it Friday in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.British Foreign Secretary Hunt said the seizure showed "worrying signs Iran may be choosing a dangerous path of illegal and destabilising behaviour". Hunt called it a "tit-for-tat" situation, as it came hours after a court in Gibraltar said it would extend by 30 days the detention of the Grace 1 Iranian tanker seized two weeks ago on allegations of breaching UN sanctions against Syria.Brent oil was quoted at USD63.68 a barrel Monday midday, up from USD62.32 late Friday. Accordingly, oil major BP was up 1.6% while Royal Dutch Shell 'A' shares were up 0.9% and 'B shares up 1.0%.Among other blue-chip risers, JD Sports Fashion gained 1.4% after UBS initiated the athleisure firm with a Buy rating. Towards the other end of the index, Whitbread shed 3.5% after the Premier Inn owner completed its GBP2.5 billion capital return programme and said no further capital returns are planned.Whitbread will return GBP2 billion to shareholders through a 40.2 million share tender offer at 4,972 pence per share, completing its GBP2.5 billion return programme. The offer becomes unconditional on Tuesday this week and was oversubscribed. No further capital returns are planned, as the company has hit its GBP2.5 billion target.In the FTSE 250, high-end fashion retailer Ted Baker surged 15% after the Sunday Times newspaper reported that the company's founder Ray Kelvin could back a private equity buyout of the company.The newspaper reported that Kelvin, who resigned as chief executive over claims he presided over a culture of "forced hugging", would support a buyout that would take the company private under existing management. Kelvin owns around a third of Ted Baker.Shares in Metro Bank were up 6.3% after the lender confirmed it has entered talks to dispose of its loan portfolio. Sky News on Sunday reported that the bank was closing in on a GBP500.0 million deal to sell its mortgage portfolio to US hedge fund Cerebus Capital Management. "This is the latest sign of a company desperate to get itself back on track by injecting more capital into the business to put it on a stronger footing," commented Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.On London's junior AIM market, Abcam shares slipped 14% despite annual revenue jumping amid stronger margins. However, Chief Financial Officer Gavin Wood intends to resign over the next year in order to move closer to his family home.For the year ended June, Abcam forecast revenue to jump 11% to GBP259.9 million from GBP233.2 million the year prior. On a constant-currency basis, revenue is forecast 9.2% higher. Abcam anticipates gross margin to be "ahead" of the 69.9% reported the year prior. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation margin is expected in line with company expectations. In the US on Monday, Wall Street is pointed to a higher start with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 seen up 0.2% and the Nasdaq on course to gain 0.3%. While the start of the week is slow in terms of US company reports, things pick up as the week progresses with earnings from soft drinks giant Coca-Cola, aerospace firm Boeing, online retail company Amazon and Google-owner Alphabet.