The FTSE 100 started the week in positive territory climbing 10 points to trade near 10,457 in early deals. Gains were led by banking and defence names, while miners and housebuilders weighed on the index.
NatWest Group rose 3.52% to £600.60 after releasing earnings late last week and launching its share buyback programme.
Barclays followed with a 1.99% gain to £463.05 while broader financial sentiment remained supported by expectations of potential rate cuts later this year.
JD Sports advanced 2.61% to £80.94, Autotrader gained 2.37% to £470 and Prudential climbed 2.11% to £1,091.50.
Among others, Rightmove also added 1.95% to £438.40. It is a clear rebound after recent pressures.
Defence stocks Babcock and BAE Systems traded higher following the security summit over the weekend.
On the downside, Rio Tinto fell 1.45% to £7,083. Endeavour Mining dropped 1.53% to £4,504 amid slight weakness in bullion prices.
AstraZeneca slipped 0.86% to £14,988 while British American Tobacco declined 1.45% to £4,291.
Berkeley Group lost 1.44% to £4,370 as housebuilders struggled alongside Barratt Redrow amid housing market uncertainty.
While US markets stay closed, last week’s data has eased pressure on global equities.
Softer retail sales and cooling core inflation have strengthened expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut. It pushes the US two-year Treasury yield down to 3.40%.
In commodities, gold dipped below the $5,000 mark as the US dollar strengthened slightly.
Pinewood.AI said it is still very confident in the group’s long-term prospects after a private equity firm withdrew from a deal.
On Friday, British private equity giant Apax stated that, amid ongoing challenging market conditions, it does not intend to make an offer for Pinewood.AI.
This ends a pursuit that started in January with a potential £500 per share cash offer.
On Monday, the group said it believes it is well-positioned to continue executing its strategy and to achieve its full-year 2028 guidance of underlying earnings of £58 million-£62 million.
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Zurich has secured an extension to its takeover deadline for insurer Beazley with the new “put up or shut up” deadline set for 4 March. Zurich’s proposed offer values Beazley at £1,335 per share.
Paramount is reportedly revisiting a potential takeover bid for Warner Bros, despite the studio’s existing agreement with Netflix in a deal valued at $72 billion.
Inflation data this week is expected to show UK CPI easing to around 3%, its lowest level since March 2025.
Meanwhile, youth unemployment has risen to 13.7% and it prompts debate over the impact of minimum wage increases on younger workers.
Rightmove reported average asking prices edging down slightly to £368,019 in February after January’s record surge.
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