London’s FTSE 100 climbed sharply in early trade, up 100 points (1%) to 9,527, as strength in banks, housebuilders, and construction-related stocks lifted the blue-chip index.
Barclays was among the top performers, rising after it upgraded its profitability outlook, despite setting aside an additional £235 million to cover compensation linked to the car loan commissions scandal.
Housebuilders were also in focus, buoyed by improving sentiment in the UK housing sector:
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Persimmon gained nearly 5%,
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Barratt Redrow rose 3.6%, and
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Berkeley Group advanced 3.2%.
Elsewhere, building materials supplier Howden Joinery topped the leaderboard with a 5.2% jump, while B&Q owner Kingfisher added 3.8%.
Meanwhile, Wall Street opened on a more subdued note, with stocks broadly flat. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 edged slightly higher, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 19 points, or 0.1%, as investors digested corporate earnings and awaited further economic data later in the week.
