A dramatic overnight rally across Asian technology markets handed London’s blue-chip index a much-needed boost at the start of the new trading week.
Taiwan’s stock market surged 5.7% and Japan’s Nikkei climbed 3.5% on Monday, with South Korea’s KOSPI adding around 1.7% as risk appetite returned to global markets.
The recovery followed a bruising Friday session in which the FTSE 100 shed 1%, leaving investors looking anxiously toward any signal of stabilisation.
London’s benchmark index opened Monday at 10,687, up 13 points or 0.1%, pulling away from an early session low of 10,652 to briefly touch 10,692.
Coca-Cola HBC delivered the strongest individual performance among blue-chips, climbing 3.4% to lead the risers board in early trade.
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust gained 2.5%, Endeavour Mining rose 2%, and Rolls-Royce added 1.7%, while IAG advanced 1.9% as it continued its recovery following last week’s results.
Not every stock shared in the rebound, with gambling group Entain tumbling 3.9% to stand as the session’s most conspicuous loser.
Software firm Sage fell 3.2% and Airtel Africa dipped 0.3%, underscoring the uneven nature of the morning’s moves across the index.
Wall Street had provided only a mixed lead overnight, with the Nasdaq gaining 1.1% and the S&P 500 adding 0.3%, though the Dow Jones slipped 0.5%.
Australia’s ASX 200 offered little directional guidance, closing almost flat at 9,030, while Hong Kong edged only marginally higher.
In commodities, gold rose 1.3% to around US$4,127 an ounce, benefiting from ongoing uncertainty, while Brent crude slipped 1.2% toward US$97 a barrel.
Cryptocurrency markets remained under significant strain, with Bitcoin falling below US$75,000 as heavy ETF outflows and fresh concerns over US regulation weighed on sentiment.
Ethereum, Solana, and XRP were also under pressure, extending what has become a prolonged and painful sell-off across digital asset markets.
Back in London, corporate news flow will keep investors attentive, with Kainos due to report half-year results and building products group Kingspan scheduled to issue a trading update.
Data pointing to further cooling in the UK jobs market is also expected to feature in investor thinking as the week gets underway.
