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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Monday ahead of a slew of UK economic releases and amid optimism over the signing of a 'phase one' US-China trade deal, due on Wednesday.
The FTSE 100 was up 18.06 points, or 0.2%, at 7,606.16. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 107.77 points, or 0.8% at 21,737.44. The AIM All-Share index was up 0.4% at 965.39.
The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.2% at 12,885.39. The Cboe 250 was up 0.4% at 19,576.61 and the Cboe Small Companies flat at 12,401.02
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.1% and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt up 0.3% in opening trade.
On the London Stock Exchange, Taylor Wimpey was the best blue-chip performer, up 3.7% after Peel Hunt raised the housebuilder to Add from Hold.
Halma was up 2.5% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the hazard detection products maker to Buy from Neutral.
In the FTSE 250, Spirent Communications was the best performer, up 9.1%. The telecommunications testing company said its momentum continued into the final quarter of 2019 as it secured a number of contract wins.
For 2019, Spirent said revenue grew 5.5% to USD503 million, and it now expects to deliver an adjusted operating profit in the range of USD91 million to USD93 million, up from USD77.1 million in 2018.
At the other end of the midcaps, HomeServe was down 1.5% after JPMorgan cut the home emergency cover provider to Neutral from Overweight.
Focus this week is on Washington, where China and the US will finally on Wednesday put pen to paper on their highly anticipated "phase one" trade deal. The preliminary trade deal agreement has eased tensions between the economic superpowers and boosted prospects for the global economy.
"The US-China trade deal is the focal point. White House officials are adamant it's a fait accompli, save translating the 86-page document into Chinese. It’s expected to be signed on Wednesday. With the phase one deal baked in, what markets want to know is how quickly - if at all - the two sides can move things forward to phase 2. There's no doubt that building on this deal is going to take a lot more effort and compromise. Of course, phase one could unravel at any moment if either side wants to walk," said Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson.
In currencies, the pound was quoted at USD1.3060 Monday morning, flat from USD1.3061 late Friday. The euro was at USD1.1128, up from USD1.1112. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY109.63, flat against JPY109.60 late Friday.
Oil was quoted at USD65.08 a barrel early Monday, down from USD65.40 late Friday. Gold was trading at USD1,553.93, down from USD1,559.30.
In China, the Shanghai Composite closed up 0.8%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed up 0.9%. Financial markets in Japan were closed on Monday for the Coming of Age public holiday.
The economic events calendar on Monday has UK GDP readings, alongside industrial and manufacturing figures at 0930 GMT.
According to economist expectations, the monthly UK GDP release is set to remain at zero in November.
"In the UK we have the monthly GDP estimate for November, which will be decisive for whether the Bank of England will cut the policy rate later this month, which is our base case. We think this may lead to further GBP weakness, as it is not yet priced in," said Danske Bank.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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