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* AB Foods slips on downbeat fourth-quarter Primark sales
* Recruiter SThree jumps on strong annual earnings outlook
* FTSE 100 up 0.6%, FTSE 250 adds 0.2%
(Updates to close)
By Devik Jain
Sept 13 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 ended higher on Monday
as gains in energy-linked stocks aided a partial recovery from
its worst weekly performance since mid-August, while Associated
British Foods slipped on sales at its Primark business.
The blue-chip index climbed 0.6%, after sliding 1.5%
last week on concerns of a stalling domestic economic recovery.
Oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell each
rose nearly 2%, tracking crude prices, while banks
were 1.9% higher.
The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index
advanced 0.2%.
Investor focus is now on data releases in Britain and the
United States later this week, including jobs and keenly watched
inflation and retail sales, for clues on monetary policy actions
ahead of central bank meetings next week.
"There appears to be a build up in anxiety that the
continued rise in inflationary pressure may well be much more
persistent than central bankers would have us believe," Michael
Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said.
"In July both UK and U.S. consumer prices saw a pause as
some base effects dropped out of the headline numbers, and while
there is some expectation that this might continue in August,
this appears to be more of a hope than anything else."
Last week, a Reuters poll forecast that the Bank of England
will raise borrowing costs by end-2022, earlier than previously
thought, and it could come even sooner.
Among individual stock moves, Associated British Foods
fell 2.4% after fourth-quarter sales at its Primark
fashion business were lower than expected.
Recruiter SThree rose 3.8% after forecasting
annual earnings "significantly above" estimates.
Transport company FirstGroup jumped 3.2% after
saying its First bus passenger volumes reached 65% of
pre-pandemic levels on average in recent weeks.
Martin Sorrell's S4 Capital fell 3.8% despite the
advertising group lifting its annual gross profit guidance,
driven by strong demand from global tech platforms.
(Reporting by Devik Jain and Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by
Shounak Dasgupta and Alexander Smith)
