FTSE 100 rises as financial stocks gain; Ukraine talks in focus
The FTSE 100 (.FTSE), opens new tab gained 0.4%, while the FTSE midcap index (.FTMC), opens new tab was down 0.4%.
Financial stocks emerged as the day's stand out performers, with life insurers' index (.FTNMX303010), opens new tab reaching its highest level since March 2023 in intraday trading and the banking index (.FTNMX301010), opens new tab closing at a one-week high.
Analysts believe the broader financial sector is benefiting as investors increasingly seek refuge in domestic-focused equities due to global trade uncertainties triggered by U.S. tariff policies.
In consumer-related shares, British American Tobacco (BATS.L), opens new tab and spirits maker Diageo (DGE.L), opens new tab rose 2% and 1.8%, respectively.
Retailer Marks & Spencer (MKS.L), opens new tab resumed click‑and‑collect orders for clothing after a nearly four‑month hiatus following a cyber hack and data theft, sending its shares 3% higher.
Meanwhile, a gauge of the U.K.'s defence sector (.FTNMX502010), opens new tab ended flat after falling to a one-week low earlier in the day.
U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15 as he seeks to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, although Kyiv fears being excluded from the negotiations.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has expressed support for peace efforts while emphasizing Kyiv's necessary involvement in any settlement.
Among other movers, Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT.L), opens new tab dropped 3% after the biotechnology firm announced CEO Gordon Sanghera's planned departure by 2026, though the broader healthcare sector (.FTNMX201030), opens new tab added 0.7%.
Online trader Plus500 fell 5.7% after announcing disappointing profit margins and unchanged annual forecasts, making it one of the FTSE 250's biggest decliners
Recent surveys indicate British business hiring intentions have fallen to pandemic-era lows, with starting salaries rising at the slowest pace in four years.
Investors now await Tuesday's UK employment data, which is likely to show the jobless rate in the three months to June held at 4.7%, close to a four-year high.
Across the Atlantic, the U.S. inflation report is also due on Tuesday, a key determinant for the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision next week.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Merz, Macron and Meloni among European leaders join Zelensky for Trump talks – but no word from Starmer
European leaders will join Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky when he meets Donald Trump for peace talks at the White House on Monday. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, German chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finnish president Alexander Stubb were the first leaders to confirm they will join Mr Zelensky in Washington DC. Mr Zelensky's Oval Office rendezvous with the US president will take place after Western allies meet for a coalition of the willing video call on Sunday afternoon. The call will be hosted by Sir Keir Starmer, France's Emmanuel Macron and Mr Merz. Downing Street would not comment on whether Sir Keir plans to travel to Washington to join other European leaders on Monday. The show of unity by European leaders comes as Mr Trump appears poised to urge the Ukrainian leader to agree to a Russian land grab of his country's territory, according to reports. Several news outlets have reported Russian president Vladimir Putin has demanded full control of Donetsk and Luhansk – two occupied Ukrainian regions – as a condition for ending the war. In exchange, he would give up other Ukrainian territories held by Russian troops, several news outlets said, attributing sources familiar with Mr Putin and Mr Trump's negotiations in Alaska on Friday. Mr Trump is said to be inclined to support the plan, and will speak to Mr Zelensky about it when they meet in the Oval Office The European leaders may also fear a repeat of Mr Zelensky's last visit to the White House at the end of February. The tumultuous spat resulted in a souring of relations between the US and Ukraine.
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Starmer to join European leaders for Trump-Zelensky meeting in Washington
Sir Keir Starmer will join President Zelensky and European leaders for a meeting with US president Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, Downing Street has said. The Prime Minister and a host of European leaders will travel to Washington DC in a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian leader, whose last visit to the Oval Office ended in a tumultuous spat with Mr Trump. The US president is said to be mulling over Russia's demands to bring an end to the war, which include a land grab of two occupied Ukrainian regions: Donetsk and Luhansk. Several media outlets have reported Mr Trump is planning to urge his Ukrainian counterpart to agree to the conditions as part of a peace deal to end the war.
Reuters
5 minutes ago
- Reuters
European leaders to join Zelenskiy for Washington talks as Trump presses peace deal
LONDON/BERLIN, Aug 17 (Reuters) - European leaders including from Germany, France and Britain will accompany Volodymyr Zelenskiy to meet Donald Trump in Washington, they said on Sunday, seeking to bolster him as the U.S. president presses Ukraine to accept a quick peace. Ahead of the Washington talks on Monday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer were hosting a meeting of allies on Sunday to shore up Zelenskiy's position, hoping in particular to lock down robust security guarantees for Ukraine that would include a U.S. role. President Trump is leaning on Ukraine to strike an agreement after meeting Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska. According to sources, the U.S. and Russian leaders discussed proposals for Russia to relinquish tiny pockets of occupied Ukraine in exchange for Ukraine ceding a swathe of fortified land in the east and freezing the front lines elsewhere. At face value, some of Putin's demands would be hugely difficult for Ukraine to accept, setting the stage for potentially fraught talks about ending Europe's deadliest war in 80 years, which has killed or wounded more than 1 million people. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also travel to Washington, as will Finland's President Alexander Stubb, whose access to Trump included rounds of golf in Florida earlier this year. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is an admirer of many of Trump's policies, will also go to Washington, her office said. European allies are keen to avoid a repeat of Zelenskiy's last Oval Office meeting, in February. That went disastrously, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance giving the Ukrainian leader a strong public dressing-down. "The talks will address, among other things, security guarantees, territorial issues, and continued support for Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression," the German government said in a statement about the Washington trip. "This includes maintaining pressure on sanctions." Macron, Merz and Starmer will host a virtual meeting of the "coalition of the willing" - a grouping of allies of Kyiv - from 1300 GMT on Sunday. Von der Leyen will host Zelenskiy in Brussels from where the two leaders will also dial in. European powers want to help set up a trilateral meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelenskiy to make sure Ukraine has a seat at the table to shape its future. They also want security guarantees for Ukraine with U.S. involvement, and the ability to crank up pressure on Moscow if needed. "They will spell out what they consider essential in terms of security guarantees: what they can do themselves, what falls to the coalition of volunteers, and also what they expect from the United States," a European government official said. "Indeed, they expect a very robust commitment." Trump said on Friday that Ukraine should make a deal to end the war with Russia because "Russia is a very big power, and they're not". After the Alaska summit with Putin, Trump phoned Zelenskiy and told him that the Kremlin chief had offered to freeze most front lines if Kyiv ceded all of Donetsk, the industrial region that is one of Moscow's main targets, a source familiar with the matter said. Zelenskiy rejected the demand, the source said. Russia already controls a fifth of Ukraine, including about three-quarters of Donetsk province, which it first entered in 2014. Trump also said he agreed with Putin that a peace deal should be sought without the prior ceasefire that Ukraine and its European allies have called for. That was a reversal of his position before the summit, when he said he would not be happy unless a ceasefire was agreed on. Zelenskiy said Russia's unwillingness to pause the fighting would complicate efforts to forge a lasting peace. "Stopping the killing is a key element of stopping the war," he said on X. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has been gradually advancing for months. In his statement after the Alaska summit, Putin signalled no movement in Russia's long-held demands, which also include a veto on Kyiv's desired membership in the NATO alliance. He also warned Ukraine and its European allies not to "create any obstacles. That they will not attempt to disrupt the emerging progress through provocation or behind-the-scenes intrigue."
