FTSE 100 Extends Gains for 2nd Session
The FTSE 100 traded more than 0.5% higher on Monday, following a 1.1% rise in the previous session, in line with broader European markets as oil prices continued to retreat. Investors balanced relatively resilient Middle Eastern supply flows against escalating regional tensions and a US claim that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy ceasefire. Banking stocks led the advance, with HSBC and Standard Chartered gaining nearly 2%, while Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest each rose more than 1%. AstraZeneca also climbed over 0.5%, despite reporting that its experimental treatment efzimfotase alfa failed to meet statistical significance in a late-stage trial involving adolescents and adults with hypophosphatasia, a rare bone and muscle disorder. However, the head of the company’s Alexion rare-disease division maintained that the drug could still secure regulatory approval. Energy majors BP and Shell lagged behind the broader market as lower crude prices weighed on their shares.
1% rise in the previous session, in line with broader European markets as oil prices continued to retreat. Investors balanced relatively resilient Middle Eastern supply flows against escalating regional tensions and a US claim that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy ceasefire. Banking stocks led the advance, with HSBC and Standard Chartered gaining nearly 2%, while Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest each rose more than 1%. 5%, despite reporting that its experimental treatment efzimfotase alfa failed to meet statistical significance in a late-stage trial involving adolescents and adults with hypophosphatasia, a rare bone and muscle disorder.
However, the head of the company’s Alexion rare-disease division maintained that the drug could still secure regulatory approval. Energy majors BP and Shell lagged behind the broader market as lower crude prices weighed on their shares.