(Alliance News) – Stock prices in London opened higher on Monday, as mining and defence stocks were boosted by renewed uncertainty after the US move to oust Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro over the weekend.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 19.98 points, 0.2%, at 9,971.12. The FTSE 250 was up 84.48 points, 0.4%, at 22,493.69, and the AIM All-Share was up 4.80 points, 0.6%, at 773.63.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 995.16, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 19,556.95, and the Cboe Small Companies was 0.1% higher at 17,743.62.
In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.6%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.9% higher.
Sterling was at USD1.3430 on Monday morning, down from USD1.3491 at the London equities close on Friday. The euro was lower at USD1.1687 from USD1.1745. Against the yen, the dollar was higher at JPY156.82 versus JPY156.64.
Geopolitical factors are in focus after dramatic events in Venezuela over the weekend.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was in a New York jail on Saturday, hours after US special forces seized and flew him out of his country – which US President Donald Trump said would come under effective US control.
Trump said he was “designating people” from his cabinet to be in charge in Venezuela but gave no further details. In another surprise, Trump indicated US troops could be deployed, saying Washington is “not afraid of boots on the ground”.
Venezuela’s new leadership has signalled a willingness to cooperate with the US.
“We invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence,” Delcy Rodriguez, declared the interim president of Venezuela, said on Sunday in a statement posted on Instagram.
Gold was up at USD4,427.20 an ounce early on Monday from USD4,320.16 late Friday. Brent oil was trading slightly lower at USD59.90 a barrel from USD60.09.
“From a market perspective, what happened last Saturday in Venezuela means higher volatility in oil prices, risk premia creeping back into asset prices and markets being forced to react to political shockwaves as soon as many investors return to their desks. But overall feeling is way more relaxed than that,” said Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.
“Venezuela pumps around 800,000 barrels per day – a third of what it used to a decade ago, and less than 1% of global supplies. In terms of supply risk, that’s almost negligible, especially considering that the crude market is well supplied: the IEA projects a record oil surplus this year, while Trafigura warns of a potential ‘super glut’. This explains why a potential supply shock in Venezuela is unlikely to reverse the bearish trend – particularly since the US did not touch any oil facilities during last weekend’s operations and sanctions on Venezuelan oil remain in place.”
In London, shares in miners climbed as the gold price rose in the face of heightened geopolitical instability.
Endeavour Mining jumped 4.1%, Anglo American climbed 3.5%, Antofagasta was up 3.4% and Fresnillo advanced 3.0%.
Elsewhere, BAE Systems was 4.6% higher and led the FTSE 100, Babcock International climbed 3.6%, Melrose Industries rose 3.2%, and Rolls-Royce was 2.2% higher.
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was up 3.0%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was 1.4% higher, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong ended marginally higher. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney rose slightly.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended mostly higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.7%, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite ended marginally lower.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury was at 4.17% on Monday, slimmed from 4.19% on Friday. The yield on the 30-year was at 4.86%, slightly narrowed from 4.87%.
In London, shares in Johnson Matthey climbed 7.0% after Berenberg upgraded its rating to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ and raised the price target to 2,550 pence from 2,050p.
Balfour Beatty shares were up 0.2% after it sold ten UK assets from its infrastructure investments portfolio for a total of GBP87 million.
The London-based international infrastructure construction firm said it made a GBP7 million total gain on the sales to London-based investor, developer and fund manager Equitix.
The assets are offshore transmission owners, five street lighting projects, one biomass plant and one road concession.
Wizz Air shares were up 1.6% as it said it carried 5.8 million passengers in December, up 16% from 5.1 million a year ago.
The carrier said total capacity was up 16% to 6.7 million from 5.9 million, while load factor for the month slips to 85.9% from 86.5%. On a 12-month rolling basis, the number of passengers carried rose 9.4% to 68.6 million from 62.7 million, while the load factor increased to 91.0% from 90.7%.
Budget carrier Ryanair shares were flat as it said passenger numbers climbed 6.6% to 14.5 million in December from 13.6 million a year ago, while the load factor remained at 92%.
On a rolling 12-month basis, passenger numbers were up 4.7% to 206.5 million from 197.2 million. The load factor was unchanged at 94%.
Among small caps, shares in Auction Technology Group jumped 20% after it said its board has unanimously rejected eleven unsolicited takeover proposals from FitzWalter Capital.
The London-based auction market operator said the most recent proposal on December 23 was at 360 pence per share in cash. It said the board rejected the proposals on the basis that they “fundamentally undervalue” the company.
“The ATG board believes that FitzWalter’s proposals represent an opportunistic attempt to acquire the company at a time when ATG’s public market valuation is currently disconnected from the company’s fair value,” it said.
The firm added that FitzWalter’s latest proposal came with an irrevocable commitment to announce the terms and nature of its proposals next Monday. The board requested FitzWalter either “make a firm offer on terms which reflect fair value” or confirm its intention not to make a firm offer. FitzWalter is required to make a firm offer or confirm no bid by February 2.
ATG said it remains confident in its standalone prospects as a publicly listed company.
On the AIM market, shares in accesso Technology Group dropped 12%.
The Berkshire, England-based provider of software for the leisure, entertainment and cultural sector said a major customer has indicated its intention not to renew its agreement for a software solution beyond its contractual expiry on January 31.
Another customer that was not expected to continue beyond the end of 2025 now plans to renew its contract for one year, accesso added.
The firm said it expects to report a full year outturn in line with expectations.
“While the combined financial impact of the recent contract developments is still dependent upon the outcome of negotiations, the board currently expects the net revenue impact to be offset, at a cash [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation] level, by current initiatives focused on further improving our operational efficiency,” accesso said.
Still to come on Monday’s global economic calendar are UK mortgage approvals data and the US ISM manufacturing PMI.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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