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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Monday on hopes of a summit about Ukraine between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
However, the Kremlin said Monday it was too early to organise a summit between the Russian leader and his US counterpart, after Paris announced the possibility of a meeting to calm tensions over Ukraine.
"It's premature to talk about any specific plans for organising any kind of summits," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that no "concrete plans" had been put in place for a meeting.
The FTSE 100 index was up 54.87 points, or 0.7%, at 7,568.49 early Monday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 76.99 points, or 0.4%, at 21,439.59. The AIM All-Share index was down 2.93 points, or 0.3%, at 1,057.09.
The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.6% at 750.94. The Cboe 250 was up 0.4% at 19,149.69, and the Cboe Small Companies down 0.4% at 15,458.73.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.5%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.8% early Monday.
interactive investor's Richard Hunter said: "The newsflow remains uncertain on the latest developments on the Ukraine border, with increased military activity being reported in some areas. At the same time, it appears that a diplomatic solution is still being sought by the major powers, with the possibility of a summit between the US and Russia apparently on the table in an effort to prevent military conflict.
"Amid the uncertainty, some investors chose not to maintain positions over a weekend which is extended by today's US Presidents Day holiday. In turn, this will lead to lighter volumes globally, and this thinner liquidity is likely to exacerbate price movements given the high fragility of sentiment at the moment."
In the FTSE 100, Russian steelmaker Evraz was the best performer, up 4.3%, on the optimism that a Russia invasion of Ukraine can be averted.
Dechra Pharmaceuticals was up 1.7% after the veterinary products firm said it delivered strong interim results amid increased consumer spending on pets during Covid-19 restrictions.
For the six months that ended December 31, Dechra posted pretax profit of GBP53.4 million, up 51% from GBP35.4 million a year before. This was on revenue of GBP322.4 million, up 7.5% from GBP299.8 million.
The Northwich, Cheshire-based firm declared an interim dividend of 12.00 pence, up 8.1% from 11.11p.
Looking ahead, Dechra said trading at the start of the second half remains strong, especially in major markets, which are returning to "historic levels" of growth.
Anglo American was up 1.0%. The miner announced the restarting of its Grosvenor metallurgical coal mining operation in Queensland, Australia.
Anglo American said it had received confirmation from regulator Resources Safety & Health Queensland on Wednesday last week that longwall mining operations could now start up once more, following a gas incident which led to an explosion on a longwall face in May 2020.
Looking ahead, while export metallurgical coal production guidance for 2022 remains between 20 million and 22 million tonnes, the effect of Covid-19 early in the year and a later-than-expected resumption of operations at Grosvenor, means that output is expected to be at the lower end of guidance.
In addition, unit cost guidance for 2022 has been raised to USD85 per tonne, compared to USD80 previously, though down from USD105 for 2021.
In the FTSE 250, Hammerson was up 1.4% after the retail landlord confirmed that it is in discussions with entities related to Swiss property investor Redical Holdings for the sale of its Victoria Gate and Victoria Quarter shopping centres in Leeds.
Elsewhere in London, Made.com was down 6.1% after the online furniture retailer said Chief Executive Officer Philippe Chainieux has stepped down immediately "for family reasons". Chief Operating Officer Nicola Thompson will be interim CEO.
In Asia on Monday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.8%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended marginally lower, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed down 0.7%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.2%.
The dollar was lower early Monday.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3654 early Monday, up from USD1.3584 at the London equities close Friday. The euro was priced at USD1.1375, up from USD1.1334. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY114.95 in London, down from JPY115.11.
Brent oil was quoted at USD93.48 a barrel Monday morning, up from USD92.85 at the close Friday. Gold stood at USD1,893.72 an ounce, flat from USD1,893.40 on Friday.
In the economics calendar Monday, there are PMI readings due from Germany, eurozone, and the UK.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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