FTSE starts week in the green amid rising commodity prices

On currency markets, the pound gained 0.6% to 1.252 dollars and 0.4% to 1.151 euros.

Shares rose in London on Monday. (John Walton/PA) (PA Wire)

It was a quiet day on London’s markets as the week started, but the blue chip FTSE 100 index managed to eke out a small gain nonetheless.

Lifted higher in part by some of the mining giants, who managed to gain during the day, the index ended at 7,777.7 points. It was a 23.08 point rise, or 0.3%.

“We’ve seen a modestly subdued session for markets in Europe today, opening higher on the back of the more positive mood coming out of the US, with respect to positive noises coming out from the debt ceiling negotiations at the weekend,” said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.

“With the opening of US markets these gains started to melt away in the afternoon session as markets gave up these gains to slide into the red, although the FTSE 100 appears to be outperforming, due to a modest rebound in commodity prices which is supporting the basic resources and oil and gas sector.”

In France and Germany, the Cac 40 and Dax indices had both ended flat. The S&P 500 in New York was also trading flat shortly after European markets closed. The Dow Jones was down 0.1%.

On currency markets, the pound gained 0.6% to 1.252 dollars and 0.4% to 1.151 euros.

In company news, shares in John Wood Group plummeted 34% after the US private equity suitor which had been eyeing a £1.7 billion takeover for the company pulled out.

Apollo Management said that it would not make a bid after all, ahead of a Wednesday deadline for a firm bid to be made.

The company said that it was still confident despite the rejection.

Meanwhile shares in International Distributions Services remained unaffected, rising 0.2% even after regulator Ofcom said that it was probing Royal Mail’s failure to meet delivery targets.

Investors seemed unconcerned by the fact that Royal Mail, a subsidiary of IDS, could face a fine.

The company fell short of its performance targets in the last financial year, with only 73.7% of first class post being delivered within one working day, nearly 20 percentage points behind target.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were 3i Group, up 47.5p to 1,876p, Centrica, up 2.8p to 117.55p, Segro, up 16.6p to 820.6p, HSBC, up 11.3p to 611p, and Anglo American, up 42.5p to 2,380p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Ocado, down 10.4p to 431p, Rolls-Royce, down 3.2p to 145.1p, DCC, down 65.0p to 4,654p, London Stock Exchange, down 98.0p to 8,456p, and Tesco, down 2.5p to 273.2p.