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* Rolls-Royce jumps on sales of Spain-based ITP, U.S. Air
Force
contract
* Energy stocks track crude oil prices higher
* Hikma Pharma gains on buying U.S.-based Custopharm
* FTSE 100 up 0.2%, FTSE 250 adds 0.1%
(Updates to close)
By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shashank Nayar
Sept 27 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 ended higher on
Monday, helped by gains in heavyweight energy and banking
stocks, while Rolls-Royce topped the blue-chip index after it
agreed to sell its Spanish unit ITP Aero for 1.7 billion euros.
The FTSE 100 advanced 0.2% with the energy
and banking sectors leading the
gains.
BP rose 3.1% after saying that nearly a third of its
British petrol stations had run out of the two main grades of
fuel as panic buying forced the government to suspend
competition laws and allow firms to work together to ease
shortages.
Banks HSBC Holdings, Barclays, Virgin
Money UK and Standard Chartered gained between
1.5% and 4%, tracking higher benchmark bond yields.
Yields are trading at their highest level since May 2019,
suggesting rising inflation pressures.
"The fact that the economic picture is becoming an awful lot
more difficult doesn't really bear any relation to what stock
markets are doing," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at
CMC Markets UK.
"The stock market works on the basis of liquidity and at the
moment (there is) plenty of it."
The FTSE 100 has risen about 9.4% so far this year on
support from easy central bank policies and re-opening optimism.
But the pace of the rise has been slowed recently by inflation
risks sparked by higher energy costs and supply chain
disruptions.
The domestically focussed mid-cap index rose 0.1%,
with travel and leisure stocks among top gainers.
Rolls-Royce gained 10.3% after it said it had agreed
to sell its Spanish unit ITP Aero to a consortium led by Bain
Capital Private Equity for 1.7 billion euros ($2 billion). The
company also won a contest to provide engines for the U.S. Air
Force B-52 Stratofortress bombers.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals added 1.3% after saying it
would buy U.S.-based sterile injectables company Custopharm in a
$375 million deal.
Britain's United Utilities slipped 1.4% despite
forecasting higher revenue and profit for the first
half.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Amal S; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu, William Maclean)
