11th Aug 2025 12:07
(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 outperformed on Monday, sitting solidly higher in afternoon dealings, though stocks in mainland Europe faded.
The FTSE 100 index traded up 16.75 points, 0.2%, at 9,112.48. The FTSE 250 fell 80.96 points, 0.4%, at 21,877.59, and the AIM All-Share was down 2.77 points, 0.4%, at 759.69.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 759.69, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.4% at 19,269.64, and the Cboe Small Companies was flat at 17,120.23.
In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt each lost 0.3%.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is called up 0.2%, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite up 0.1%.
"The market seems very relaxed ahead of tomorrow's deadline on US-China trade talks, reflecting the assumption an extension is in the offing and a deal will eventually be reached. While the mood music between Beijing and Washington has improved, there is some risk investors' confidence proves misplaced," AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould commented.
Sterling traded at USD1.3450 on Monday, flat from the time of the London equities close on Friday. The euro fell to USD1.1645 from USD1.1666, while against the yen, the buck was largely unmoved at JPY147.72 from JPY147.73.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury faded to 4.27% on Monday, from 4.29% at the time of the London equities close on Friday. The yield on the 30-year eased to 4.84% from 4.86%.
A barrel of Brent traded at USD66.65 early Monday afternoon, flat from USD66.63 late Friday afternoon. Gold declined to USD3,359.18 an ounce from USD3,393.20.
EU foreign ministers will hold emergency talks on Monday to discuss their next steps before talks between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, as Europe fears any deal made without Ukraine could force unacceptable compromises.
The two leaders will meet in the US state of Alaska on Friday to try to resolve the three-year war but the EU has insisted that Kyiv and European powers should be part of any deal to end the conflict.
The idea of a US-Russia meeting without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has raised concerns that a deal would require Kyiv to cede swathes of territory, which the EU has rejected.
EU foreign ministers will discuss their next steps in a meeting by video link on Monday at 1400 GMT, joined by their Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiga.
European leaders pushed hard over the weekend for Ukraine to be a part of the talks.
Rostro analyst Joshua Mahony said investors are "increasingly focused on the prospect of a breakthrough in peace negotiations when Trump meets Putin on Friday".
"There will always remain a degree of hesitation given the low likelihood of a peace agreement that is satisfactory for both Ukrainian and Russian sides. Nonetheless, in a week that sees US inflation as a focal point, the recent weakness in oil prices do provide the basis for depressed energy inflation. That decline in oil prices does highlight a degree of optimism that a deal to end the war would also bring lower sanctions and the free flowing of Russian oil and gas globally," Mahony added.
In New York, shares in Nvidia and AMD were down 0.9% and 1.9% in pre-market dealings. The semiconductor makers have agreed to pay the US government 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China, according to media reports on Sunday.
Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang met with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday and agreed to give the federal government the cut from its revenues, a highly unusual arrangement in the international tech trade, according to reports in the Financial Times, Bloomberg and New York Times.
In London, shares in more defensive sectors helped support the FTSE 100. Pharma firms AstraZeneca and GSK rose 1.2% and 0.7%. Tobacco company BAT added 1.2%.
Elsewhere, Diversified Energy surged 9.5%. It increased cost savings targets for its Maverick Natural Resources acquisition, as it reported strong growth in revenue and adjusted earnings.
The gas and oil production company reported a net loss of USD33.9 million in the first half of 2025, swung from net income of USD15.8 million a year prior.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose to USD417.98 million from USD217.79 million a year ago, however, as IFRS revenue more than doubled to USD778.1 million from USD368.7 million the previous year. Inclusive of settled hedges, revenue rose 66% to USD740.4 million from USD446.4 million.
Looking ahead, Diversified Energy reiterated its full-year guidance, which incorporates a contribution from assets gained through its USD1.28 billion acquisition of Maverick Natural Resources LLC, a deal completed in March.
Annual savings from the Maverick deal are now seen at USD60 million, up from USD50 million previously, following "strong execution" during the integration process.
Anglo-Eastern Plantations added 9.0%. It reported a sharp rise in profit in the first half of 2025, supported by higher crude palm oil and palm kernel prices, and announced a new GBP8 million share buyback programme to run until June 2026.
The producer of palm oil and rubber across Indonesia and Malaysia said pretax profit for the six months that ended June 30 rose 78% to USD62.6 million from USD35.2 million a year earlier. Revenue climbed 39% to USD230.5 million from USD166.1 million.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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