FTSE 100 matches longest run of consecutive gains in eight years
The blue-chip index nudged up on Monday to mark its 11th straight day in the green.
The FTSE 100 rose slightly on Monday, extending its more than two-week long winning streak.
London’s blue-chip index ended the day just in the green, rising two points to finish the day at 8,417, a 0.03% rise.
The small gain means the stock index is on its longest run of consecutive increases in eight years.
However, after upheaval earlier in April in which the FTSE and other stock markets suffered big losses as a result of Donald Trump’s tariff announcements, analysts suggested investors are playing wait-and-see.
Neil Wilson, an analyst at Saxo Markets, said: “Markets appear way too complacent at this stage, tariffs are on pause, not cancelled.
“Markets are behaving like the latter.
“Certainly the direction of travel can be ascertained ‘at the moment’, but we don’t what happens next.
“Because this is not a game of chicken that Trump is losing right now.”
Elsewhere, Germany’s Dax rose 0.1% and France’s Cac 40 rose 0.5%.
Meanwhile on Wall Street, the S&P 500 was down 0.8% and the Dow Jones was down by 0.3% after UK markets closed.
Sterling was up 0.8% against the dollar at 1.3400, while it was 4% up against the euro at 1.1761.
In company news, Deliveroo shares soared after receiving a £2.7 billion takeover move from US rival DoorDash.
Shares in the company jumped 16.6% following confirmation of the approach late on Friday.
On Monday, Deliveroo also suspended its £100 million share buyback programme as a result of the takeover talks.
Meanwhile, online trading platform Plus500 has said full-year results will be better than forecast after a boost from turbulent financial markets amid a mounting global trade war.
The London-listed group said it had made an “excellent” start to the year, with revenues up 13%, helping underlying earnings jump by 23%.
Shares rose 0.7% on Monday.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Entain, up 40p to 628.2p, Kingfisher, up 8.1p to 279p, Howden Joinery, up 17p to 739p, BT, up 3.95p to 171.95p, and Hikma Pharmaceuticals, up 38p to 1937p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Weir Group, down 48p to 2264p, Standard Chartered, down 21p to 1070p, Anglo American, down 37p to 2111p, Rentokil, down 5.3p to 337.8p, and Intertek, down 66p to 4528p.