24th Aug 2026 17:04
(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 closed higher in London on Monday, outperforming European peers, as oil prices edged lower and investors looked ahead to key events in the US later this week.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 37.76 points, 0.4%, at 10,854.32. The FTSE 250 ended down slightly at 24,717.48, and the AIM All-Share closed up 2.08 points, 0.3%, at 814.04.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.4% at 1,079.03, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.2% at 21,533.93, and the Cboe Small Companies gained 0.3% at 19,109.76.
On Wall Street, stocks were mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3%, the S&P 500 index was 0.3% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6%.
In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed down 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt shed 0.1%
Oil prices edged lower despite US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declaring that an "economic D-Day" had begun against Iran.
He added that any country that continued to enable the Islamic republic would become a "global pariah".
On X, Bessent said that the US had "dismantled Iran's military capabilities, destroyed nearly 100% of its military factories, and buried its nuclear programme".
However, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi posted on the same site that the US "narrative doesn't add up".
Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: "The US is changing tactics in its battle against Iran, and its fight to get oil flowing more freely from the region. Sanctions are the latest weapon of choice and the arsenal is set to be unveiled at a press conference later.
Amid the tough rhetoric, Brent oil for October delivery traded at USD92.74 a barrel on Monday, down from USD93.53 late Friday.
Streeter said there may be "some relief that the threats have moved from military strikes to some form of super sanctions, but there is little confidence that a route to a peace deal will open up any time soon."
Events in the US headline the agenda in financial markets this week with earnings from Nvidia, personal consumption expenditures index data and the Jackson Hole economic summit.
Tom Stevenson, investment director, Fidelity International said chip maker Nvidia's second quarter results will provide a further insight into the AI 'boom or bubble' question.
"As questions remain on the extent to which sky-high investment in AI infrastructure will be justified by future revenues, share prices in the sector have stalled. Nvidia's shares trade at roughly the same level as last November," he noted.
Analysts expect Santa Clara-based Nvidia, the most valuable company in the world, to deliver a chunky 'beat-and-raise' with the scale of outperformance likely to drive share price reaction.
Elsewhere, new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will attend his first Jackson Hole symposium, giving his key-note speech on Friday.
Warsh has stated his reluctance to providing forward looking guidance on monetary policy and analysts expect more of the same.
"Warsh's discussion on Friday will likely include no explicit guidance and any implicit guidance that the market can react to may be minimal," said Citigroup analyst Andrew Hollenhorst.
"That said, we still see risks as balanced dovish. Warsh has generally avoided commenting on recent data, but that means any acknowledgement of the last two months of cooler core inflation data would be particularly notable."
The pound traded at USD1.3639 on Monday afternoon, up from USD1.3625 at the equities close on Friday. Against the euro, sterling firmed to EUR1.1689 from EUR1.1672.
The euro stood lower at USD1.1669 against USD1.1673. Against the yen, the dollar was higher at JPY159.13, compared to JPY159.03.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury narrowed to 4.70% on Monday from 4.74% at the time of the London equity close on Friday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury fell to 5.23% from 5.26%.
On the FTSE 100, positive broker commentary supported Diageo and Diploma.
Guinness owner Diageo rose 3.0% as RBC Capital Markets reiterated an 'outperform' rating and 2,000p price target after further consideration of Chief Executive Dave Lewis' turnaround proposal.
The plan "makes sense," analysts at the broker said.
"Diageo's sales growth guidance is prudent, though not egregiously so, and management's expectation of the cost to achieve that growth triangulates sensibly with what is achievable. If it works out broadly as intended, one consequence will be a sustained rise in [return on invested capital], which bodes well for the share price.
Diploma gained 0.4% as JPMorgan upgraded to 'overweight' from 'neutral'.
Analyst Jane Sparrow views the London-based supplier of specialised technical products and services as a "high-quality compounder, capable of sustaining double-digit EPS growth into the medium term."
Premier Inn owner Whitbread gained 1.6% after the Treasury said a review is being launched into the way business rates are calculated for pubs and hotels in England and Wales, which could lead to a reform of the system.
The Treasury said business rates expert Jerry Schurder will lead the review into rate valuations and report back in March 2027.
Tracsis rose 4.7% as it completed the acquisition of Mistral Data for GBP48 million, and reported that performance for the 2026 financial year was in line with market expectations.
The Leeds, England-based transport technology provider expects to report revenue of GBP85.5 million in the financial year ended July 31, a 4.4% increase compared to GBP81.9 million a year prior, and adjusted Ebitda of GBP13.5 million, up 7.1% compared to GBP12.6 million in 2025.
Tracsis said the mean analyst consensus for adjusted Ebitda was GBP13.5 million, with a range between GBP13.2 million to GB13.9 million.
Gold traded at USD4,670.28 an ounce on Monday, up from USD4,605.34 on Friday.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Diageo, up 52.00p at 1,771.00p, London Stock Exchange Group, up 238.00p at 8,840.00p, Airtel Africa, up 8.80p at 336.00p, Pearson, up 29.50p at 1,225.00p and Weir up 62.00p at 2,888.00p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were BP, down 15.80p at 533.70p, Polar Capital Technology Trust, down 16.00p at 623.50p, Babcock International, down 23.00p at 1,081.50p, Melrose Industries, down 8.30p at 462.00p and GSK, down 28.00p at 1,890.50p.
Tuesday's global economic calendar has minutes of the last Reserve Bank of Australia meeting overnight, the Ifo business climate report in Germany, US house price data and the Conference Board consumer confidence index.
Tuesday's UK corporate calendar has half year results from life and pensions consolidator Chesnara.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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