(Reuters) -Britain’s blue-chip index climbed on Monday, led by healthcare and consumer shares, but losses in defence stocks ahead of this week’s renewed Russia‑Ukraine peace negotiations capped gains.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% as of 0947 GMT. The FTSE midcap index was down 0.3%.
The healthcare sector rose 1.1% on Monday. Drugmaker GSK said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will do a priority review of its medicine to treat uncomplicated gonorrhoea; its shares gained 0.8%. Heavyweight AstraZeneca was also up 1.5%.
British American Tobacco and spirits maker Diageo rose over 1% each.
Retailer Marks & Spencer resumed click‑and‑collect orders for clothing after a nearly four‑month hiatus following a cyber hack and data theft, sending its shares 2.4% higher.
On the flip side, a gauge of the aerospace and defence sector dropped 0.7% to a more than one‑week low as a potential truce in the Russia‑Ukraine war nears.
U.S. President Donald Trump will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15 in Alaska to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
Trump said the parties, including Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, were close to a ceasefire deal.
Defence stocks, among the year’s best performers, lost 0.8% last week as the peace efforts gained momentum.
Online trading platform Plus500 fell 2.8% after weak half‑year profit margins and no upgrade to its annual forecast, making it one of the FTSE 250’s top decliners.
The blue‑chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.3% last week as investors weighed strong corporate earnings and a Bank of England rate decision that signalled the central bank’s rate‑cutting cycle may be nearing its end.
On Monday, data showed that hiring intentions by British businesses fell to their weakest since the COVID‑19 pandemic, and recruiters said starting pay was rising at the slowest pace in more than four years, adding to signs of a weakening jobs market.
Looking ahead, U.S. inflation data is due on Tuesday, a key determinant for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision next week.
(Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
