The FTSE 100 edged higher on Monday after a weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales report cooled expectations for near-term Federal Reserve tightening. London blue chips clawed back some ground following a rough previous week, while UK housing data and a fresh AstraZeneca trial setback kept the domestic picture mixed.
British stocks rose on Monday as a sharper-than-expected fall in U.S. retail sales reduced expectations for near-term Fed tightening, helping London blue chips claw back ground after losing 1.4% last week.
FTSE gains as European peers slip
The FTSE 100 rose 0.26% as of 03:25 ET (07:25 GMT), even as Germany's DAX slipped 0.03% and France's CAC 40 inched down 0.05%. Sterling firmed 0.22% to $1.3562 against the dollar.
U.S. retail sales fell 0.6% month-on-month in July, missing expectations of a 0.1% rise and marking the steepest monthly decline since May 2025. That data pushed Treasury yields and the dollar lower on Friday, improving sentiment heading into Monday's session. Elsewhere, Brent crude slipped 0.30% to $88.26 a barrel and WTI fell 0.70% to $80.90, while gold futures rose 0.36% to $4,453.35 an ounce.
UK housing data adds a cautious note
Domestic data tempered the mood. Asking prices fell 2% month-on-month in August to an average £364,999, the largest August drop since 2018 and the sharpest annual decline, down 1% year-on-year, since December 2023, according to a media report citing Rightmove data. Available homes for sale hit a 12-year seasonal high, and Rightmove downgraded its full-year 2026 price forecast to between 0% and minus 2%, from a prior projection of plus 2%.
In the UK corporate round-up, AstraZeneca discontinued its Phase III eVOLVE-Lung02 trial after an independent review found the volrustomig combination unlikely to meet its progression-free or overall survival endpoints against pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy. The trial enrolled 895 patients, with no new safety signals identified, and the company's other Phase III volrustomig trials will continue as planned.
Source: Investing.com
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
