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(Alliance News) - Equities made a confident start to the new week, with markets in London bolstered by strong gains for housebuilders, though the FTSE 100 underperformed European peers as its heavyweight mining sector endured a tough session.
European equities also overlooked an uncertain start to the New York session, with tech stocks there hit by lockdown worries in a key technology hub in China.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 37.83 points, or 0.5%, at 7,193.47 on Monday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index rose 264.64 points, or 1.3%, at 20,471.25. The AIM All-Share index ended up 4.67 points, or 0.5%, at 999.91.
The Cboe UK 100 index rose 0.6% at 716.07. The Cboe 250 ended up 1.7% at 18,077.73, and the Cboe Small Companies rose 0.5% at 14,544.47.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 stock index in Paris rose 1.8% and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended 2.2% higher.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3059 late Monday, down from USD1.3075 at the London equities close Friday. The euro was priced at USD1.0991, up from USD1.0955. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY117.98, up from JPY117.05.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "European markets have continued to build on their gains from last week, with the DAX leading the way and the FTSE100 lagging, on optimism over the progress in ceasefire talks currently taking place between Ukraine and Russia, and which are due to resume tomorrow. While welcome, today's optimism conveniently ignores the escalation of hostilities by Russia over the weekend in hitting new targets in Ukraine, near the border with Poland.
"There is certainly an element of hoping for the best in today's firmer tone, which seems to fly in the face of the reality on the ground and that for a sustained end to hostilities to take place, one side or the other will have to back down quite significantly. For a start, Ukraine is likely to insist that Russia would need to withdraw a lot of its troops, while Russia’s continued actions inside Ukraine don't speak to a mood of compromise. Consequently, the current rebound is likely to remain quite fragile in nature."
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are holding a new round of talks, even as Russia's military forces kept up their punishing campaign to capture Ukraine's capital with fighting and artillery fire in Kyiv's suburbs.
After an air strike on a military base near the Polish border brought the war dangerously close to Nato's doorstep, the talks raised hopes for progress in evacuating civilians from besieged Ukrainian cities and getting emergency supplies to areas without enough food, water and medicine.
In London, Persimmon added 6.6%, one of the best large-cap performers, while fellow housebuilder Taylor Wimpey rose 3.9% and student accommodation developer Watkin Jones closed 2.1% higher.
The UK residential construction sector could face a slimmer cladding bill than expected, the Telegraph reported over the weekend.
The Telegraph over the weekend reported that final cost projections on cladding could be lower than GBP1 billion. The newspaper said the UK House Builders Federation hired PwC to conduct an audit on homes with cladding issues across Britain.
The UK government predicted the final cost of cladding remediation could amount to GBP4 billion.
Miners struggled, however. Glencore fell 6.1% and Anglo American lost 5.2%. News of a lockdown in Shenzhen hit the sector. China is a key buyer of minerals.
Seventeen million people in the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen began their first full day under lockdown Monday.
"China is at the centre of a new storm which threatens its economic growth and credibility with the Western world," AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould commented.
"First is renewed lockdown measures as Covid returns with a vengeance. Second is chatter that Russia has asked China to provide military assistance in the invasion of Ukraine."
Mould noted London-listed investments trusts JPMorgan China Growth & Income and Fidelity China Special Situations suffered on Monday, falling 3.9% and 7.1%.
Stocks in New York were mixed at the time of the closing bell in London. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.6%, S&P 500 down 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite 1.2% lower.
Apple shares were 1.8% lower, amid concern about its exposure to the situation in China. The lockdown has led to Foxconn, which is a key supplier for Apple and maker of iPhones, to halt operations in the city.
Elsewhere in London, Abcam added 3.6%. The life science research tools firm, and one of the largest AIM constituents, said its annual earnings improved.
In the 18 months to December 31, revenue surged 78% to GBP462.9 million from GBP260.0 million in the 12 months to June 30, 2020. Abcam recently changed its year-end date to December 31.
For 2021 alone, revenue rose 17% to GBP315.4 million from GBP269.3 million in 2020.
Hostmore dropped 11%. The hospitality firm narrowed its annual loss despite the year being impacted by Covid-19 and the subsequent restrictions.
In the year ended January 2, the Edinburgh-based company reported a narrowed pretax loss of GBP1.6 million in 2021, slimmed from a loss of GBP20.2 million the previous year.
The Fridays casual dining chain operator saw revenue rise 23% to GBP159 million from GBP129.1 million year-on-year, with like-for-like revenue 4% ahead of the financial 2019 comparable since the gradual lifting of restrictions in May despite the impact of the Omicron virus variant in the December trading period.
Brent oil was quoted at USD105.30 a barrel late Monday, down sharply from USD111.92 late Friday. Gold stood at USD1,957.83 an ounce, lower against USD1,982.75.
Tuesday's economic calendar has UK unemployment figures at 0700 GMT, before US producer prices at 1230 GMT.
The local corporate calendar has annual results from business publisher and events organiser Informa, aerospace and defence engineering company Ultra Electronics and interdealer broker TP ICAP. Plumbing and heating products supplier Ferguson posts interim results.
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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