Investors are braced for volatility as they await the outcome of the US election and this week’s meetings of the Bank of England and Federal Reserve.
The race for the White House is still too close to call, while the outlook for rate cuts in 2025 will be the focus of Thursday’s central bank announcements.
In today’s developments, Anglo American raised $1.1 billion by selling steelmaking coal interests and Ryanair has posted half-year results.
FTSE 100 Live Monday
- Investors focus on election/rates outlook
- Ryanair cuts key passenger target
- Anglo American sells coal stake
Market update: Stocks rally despite poll and rates uncertainty, Burberry up 5%
09:56 , Graeme EvansUS election uncertainty and a packed diary of company results and interest rate decisions today failed to dim buying interest in the FTSE 100 index.
Stronger banks and retailers aided the progress as London’s top flight outperformed the rest of Europe with a rise of 42.82 points to 8219.97.
Despite the upturn, markets are braced for a volatile week given the US presidential election and decisions by the Bank of England and Federal Reserve.
Amid signs that Kamala Harris may have gained ground in key battleground states, the dollar today fell as traders pushed back on the chances of Donald Trump unleashing tariffs that could boost inflation and interest rates.
On monetary policy, the path of rate cuts in 2025 will be in focus on Thursday alongside the expected UK and US quarter point reductions to 4.75%.
The corporate calendar features results or updates by BT Group, Marks & Spencer and Rolls-Royce, with the telecoms giant up 2.3p to 142.5p ahead of Thursday’s figures.
Other stocks on the risers board included JD Sports Fashion, Whitbread and Tesco after gains of more than 1%, while NatWest lifted 5p to 380.3p after Peel Hunt analysts raised their price target to 450p.
Oil stocks rallied after the price of Brent Crude rose 2.5% to $74.93 a barrel, reflecting a further delay to Opec’s plans for higher production.
The developments meant BP followed last week’s poor performance with a rise of 4.5p to 382.7p and Shell lifted 32.7p to 2611.7p.
Elsewhere in commodities, Anglo American rose 22.5p to 2418.5p after it struck a $1.1 billion (£850 million) deal to offload a 33.3% interest in the owner of steelmaking coal mines in Australia.
The move is part of the company’s plans to focus on copper, premium iron ore and crop nutrients assets.
The list of FTSE 100 fallers was dominated by stocks from the technology and insurance sectors, with Beazley down 7p to 766.5p, Sage 8p lower at 977p and Relx off 12p to 3610p.
The FTSE 250 index stood 41.17 points higher at 20,520.91, led by Burberry amid speculation the luxury goods group is in the takeover sights of Italy’s Moncler. Shares jumped 5% or 37.6p to 849.6p.
Markets on edge ahead of US election and rate decisions
08:51 , Graeme EvansInvestors are braced for a week of potential volatility, driven by uncertainty over the US Presidential election and the prospect of key interest rate decisions.
Susannah Streeter, head of markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said some of the big Trump ‘plays’ on the markets have lost ground in recent days.
She added: “Investors are reassessing Donald Trump’s chances of re-entering the White House, given polls which emerged over the weekend, indicating Kamala Harris may have gained ground in key battleground states.
“The dollar has fallen back slightly, as the chances of Trump setting off a fresh tariff frenzy, pushing up inflation and interest rates, seem to have retreated a little.
“Bitcoin, which had also made strides of progress as markets priced in a Trump win, given his pro-crypto stance, has also continued to dip back. But this election is still far too close to call, so considerable swings in prices are likely as the results ebb in.”
Investors are also focused on the outlook for interest rates, with a fresh round of monetary policy easing expected from the Federal Reserve and Bank of England.
Banking stocks fuel FTSE 100 advance, Reckitt falls back
08:41 , Graeme EvansUK-focused stocks are faring well in a stronger FTSE 100 index.
London’s top flight stands 0.5% or 37.53 points higher at 8214.68, with NatWest, Lloyds Banking Group and Whitbread among those up by 1%.
JD Sports Fashion shares lead the way thanks to a rise of 2% or 2.45p to 126.05p, just ahead of Frasers Group’s gain of 11p to 778p.
BT Group shares lifted 1.35p to 141.6p ahead of results later this week.
On the fallers board, Reckitt Benckiser has given up some of Friday’s strong advance through a decline of 62p to 4932p.
Ryanair reports strong demand in Christmas quarter
08:32 , Graeme EvansRyanair said booking trends in the current quarter suggested that demand is strong and that the decline in pricing appears to be moderating.
The airline reported a 15% drop in average fares in the first quarter, a trend that improved to a fall of 7% in the three months to the end of September.
The airline continues to target an 8% rise in passenger traffic to up to 200 million for the year, “subject to no worsening of current Boeing delivery delays”.
Anglo shares rise on steelmaking coal sale
08:14 , Graeme EvansAnglo American shares today rose 2% or 39p to 2435p after it announced the $1.1 billion (£850 million) sale of its 33.3% interest in Jellinbah.
The joint venture owns 70% of the Jellinbah East and Lake Vermont steelmaking coal mines in Australia. The buyer is existing Jellinbah shareholder Zashvin.
Anglo’s move is part of plans by the FTSE 100-listed minder to focus on copper, premium iron ore and crop nutrients assets.
Anglo said the process to sell the rest of its steelmaking coal business was at an advanced stage.
Interest rates set to fall in the UK and US, BT results due
07:46 , Graeme EvansPolicymakers at the Bank of England and Federal Reserve are poised to make quarter point interest rate cuts later this week.
The Bank’s move on Thursday will be the second in this cycle, taking the base rate to 4.75%.
The Federal Reserve will do the same later in the evening, with chair Jerome Powell likely to stress that future cuts are data dependent.
On the corporate front, the week ahead includes results by BT, Marks & Spencer and IAG in the UK and Arm Holdings and Airbnb in the United States.
Ryanair hit by Boeing disruption, Q2 profit falls 6%
07:26 , Graeme EvansRyanair has scaled back a key target amid the impact of Boeing industrial action on the delivery of new aircraft.
The low-cost airline now expects 210 million passengers in the 2026 financial year rather than the 215 million previously forecast.
Ryanair also reported second quarter profits of 1.4 billion euros (£1.2 billion), down 6% on a year earlier after the average fare fell 7% to 65 euros (£54.51).
It said customer numbers rose 9% to a record 115 million across the first six months of the year, “despite repeated Boeing delays”.
FTSE 100 seen holding firm, sterling higher
07:09 , Graeme EvansSterling is up by 0.6% to $1.298, reflecting pressure on the dollar ahead of the US presidential election and this week’s Federal Reserve meeting.
The FTSE 100 index, meanwhile, is seen opening broadly flat after Friday’s strong performance saw London’s top flight advance by 0.8%.
US benchmarks closed higher before the weekend, with the S&P 500 index up 0.4% despite the release of a poor jobs market report for October.
