European stocks edge higher despite banks dragging on FTSE
The FTSE 100 was up 36.11 points or 0.5%, closing at 7,327.39.
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Your support makes all the difference.European stocks have recovered some of last week’s losses, with London’s FTSE 100 climbing higher despite another round of losses for under-pressure banking stocks.
HSBC was among the biggest fallers on the blue-chip index on Monday after it became the last of the UK’s “big four” banks to unveil its third-quarter earnings.
Despite seeing profits more than double, the bank said its net interest margin was slightly lower this quarter compared with the previous three months, as more people moved money out of current accounts and into savings.
It follows rival banks Barclays and NatWest Group also seeing slower margins thanks to heightened competition in the savings market.
HSBC and NatWest’s share prices were more than 2% lower on Monday.
But the FTSE 100 was up 36.11 points or 0.5%, closing at 7,327.39.
It is a big week for interest rate decisions with the Fed announcing on Wednesday and the Bank of England on Thursday
Energy giants BP and Shell were also trading lower after a slump in oil prices on Monday, with Brent crude oil down 2.46% to 88.25 US dollars per barrel.
“European equity indices pressed ahead at the start of the new trading week as investors slowly regain their appetite for riskier investments following last week’s tough spell for stocks,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“It is a big week for interest rate decisions with the Fed announcing on Wednesday and the Bank of England on Thursday.
“Both are expected to keep rates unchanged, which should provide some relief to investors, although much of the focus will be on commentary about the path for rates going into 2024.”
The positive sentiment helped give other European stocks a boost to start the week. Germany’s Dax was up 0.2% and France’s Cac 40 moved 0.42% higher.
US stocks were trading higher with the S&P 500 up 0.6% and Dow Jones up 1% by the time European markets closed.
It was a mixed session for the pound which was up 0.2% against the US dollar to 1.2143, and down 0.2% against the euro to 1.145.
In company news, Airtel Africa jumped to the top of the FTSE 100 after the telecommunications giant said its revenues rose a fifth higher in the six months to September, compared with the same period last year.
The company cheered the improved financial results despite currency volatility in Nigeria weighing on its performance. Shares in Airtel Africa closed 4.6% higher.
Shares in Pearson moved higher after the educational publisher upgraded its outlook for the year after revenues grew in the third quarter.
The company now expects adjusted operating profit be about £20 million higher than previous expectations, and that revenue growth would also be in the higher range of what it had previously guided. Its share price lifted 2.9%.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Airtel Africa, up 5.1p to 114.9p, St James’s Place, up 23.2p to 641.6p, Pearson, up 27p to 946.2p, Prudential, up 18.6p to 861.8p, and M&G, up 4.2p to 197p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Ocado Group, down 20.1p to 462.7p, HSBC, down 13.7p to 587.3p, NatWest Group, down 3.85p to 178.15p, 3I Group, down 25.5p to 1,943p, and Tesco, down 2.4p to 270p.