(Alliance News) - Stocks in Europe had a cautious start to the new trading week as the continent eyes up tougher sanctions against Russia as evidence of atrocities continue to emerge from the war in Ukraine.
"Pressure is ramping up on Brussels to enforce a total ban on Russian energy imports in order to enforce real damage and punishment against the Kremlin for the invasion. Of course, it's easier for some to make such demands than others," Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said.
"We're left hoping that talks continue to make progress towards a ceasefire and exit of Russian troops but if the process so far is anything to go by, that may not happen soon. While progress has been positive for risk assets so far, they remain vulnerable to setbacks in talks which continue to take place against the backdrop of ongoing attacks."
The FTSE 100 index closed up 21.02 points, or 0.3%, at 7,558.92 on Monday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index rose 111.88 points, or 0.5%, to 21,329.89. The AIM All-Share index ended up 10.17 points, or 1.0%, at 1,055.26.
The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.4% at 753.24. The Cboe 250 was up 0.6% at 18,792.34, and the Cboe Small Companies climbed 1.1% to 15,533.80.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.7%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.5%.
IG's Chris Beauchamp said: "Even fresh sanctions talk does not appear to be having much of an effect, as the market learns to look past the immediate hit to earnings. The strength of Friday's payrolls report remains a motivating factor too, even if it has also emboldened Fed policy makers to think more seriously about a 50 basis point hike next time they meet."
He also noted the main beneficiary of Friday's US jobs report on Monday is oil prices.
US nonfarm payrolls for March slightly undershot consensus, data showed on Friday, but February saw a notable upwards revision.
Brent oil was quoted at USD107.45 a barrel on Monday evening, up from USD105.32 late Friday. Elsewhere in the commodities space, gold stood at USD1,930.80 an ounce, firm against USD1,928.25.
"Economic growth forecasts have wobbled of late, but as optimism returns so does the drive to buy oil. After the recent drop, the commodity looks to be preparing for fresh gains," Beauchamp continued.
In London, housebuilders were the star of the show - with blue chippers Barratt Development up 3.0%, Persimmon 3.1%, Taylor Wimpey 2.7% and Berkeley gained 3.2%. Online estate agent Rightmove advanced 3.5%.
"Shares of housebuilders on the FTSE 100 and 250 shot up following reports that the government was close to agreeing a deal on cladding that didn't immediately include a GBP4 billion contribution to a remediation fund," Danni Hewson, AJ Bell financial analyst, said.
"Housebuilders have been in the doldrums since the start of the year despite a supercharged housing market as investors priced in the cost of making repairs. The deal on the table would require companies to deal with issues on any medium rise building they've built over the last thirty years, but additional funding talks would be put off until later in the year."
Endeavour Mining added 2.4%, after the gold miner said it will expand its Sabodala-Massawa site in Senegal, following the conclusion of a new definitive feasibility study.
Endeavour said it will supplement its existing 4.2 million tonnes per annum carbon-in-leach plant with a 1.2 million tonnes per annum Biox plant. The Biox plant will help to process the high-grade refractory ores from the Massawa Central & Massawa North deposits.
The miner said the expansion will lift the site to "top tier status", with an anticipated average annual production of 373,000 ounces per year over the next five years, with average all-in sustaining costs of USD745 per ounce.
Ted Baker gained 14% after the fashion retailer said it has received a third takeover offer from Sycamore Partners Management LP.
Ted Baker said it was evaluating the "improved proposal from Sycamore," having launched a formal sales process in agreement with the UK Takeover Panel. It also said it had received another "unsolicited" approach by an unnamed party.
Ted Baker did not disclose the value of the latest approach by Sycamore or the unnamed third party.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3121 on Monday evening, up from USD1.3108 at the London equities close Friday.
The euro was priced at USD1.0996, down from USD1.1035. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY122.70, down from JPY122.82.
Despite the subdued session in Europe, stocks in New York were in the green, with tech stocks getting a boost from Elon Musk.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up slightly, the S&P 500 up 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.4% - but Twitter stood out as its shares soared after Musk purchased a major stake in the social network.
It jumped 25% as the markets opened.
According to a document filed with the US Securities & Exchange Commission, Musk acquired nearly 73.5 million Twitter shares – a 9.2% stake in the company.
While Twitter is not large enough in terms of capitalisation to impact the wider market, market analyst Patrick O'Hare said the move has bolstered sentiment.
"What the market is really responding to is the timing of Musk's purchase and the supposition that it is an encouraging signal that longer-term investment opportunities might be availing themselves now in former high-flying stocks," he said.
The stake is worth USD2.89 billion, based Twitter's closing price on Friday. According to Forbes, Musk's net worth stands at USD287.6 billion.
In the international economics events calendar on Tuesday, there is a slew of services PMI data, with Japan and Ireland overnight, followed by France, Germany, eurozone and UK in the morning, and the US print in the afternoon. Also worth keeping an eye on tomorrow, there is a Reserve Bank of Australia rate decision at 0530 BST.
In the local corporate calendar, there is full-year results from Domino's Pizza franchiser DP Eurasia and media firm Next Fifteen Communications, while card retailer Moonpig and home emergency repairs company Homeserve will issue trading statements.
By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com
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