London's main stock indexes experienced an upward trajectory on Monday, propelled by the momentum from Wall Street's historic rally in the preceding session. The blue-chip FTSE 100
advanced by 0.4% as of 0813 GMT, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 saw a 0.6% uptick.
The Wall Street's S&P 500 achieved an unprecedented high on Friday, driven by positive sentiments surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), resulting in a surge in technology stocks globally. This optimism spilled over to the UK markets, countering concerns about the decelerating British economy and persistent inflation.
Despite both UK indexes marking their third consecutive weekly decline on Friday, triggered by robust inflation figures and a dip in December retail sales, the recent boost from Wall Street has rejuvenated market confidence. The outlook for interest rates, previously complicated by economic uncertainties, now faces a more optimistic turn.
In individual stock movements, Compass Group experienced a slight downturn after announcing its acquisition of rival CH&CO for an initial enterprise value of £475 million ($603.16 million). On the other hand, S4 Capital, the digital advertising group led by Martin Sorrell, soared by 8.3% following the release of a fourth-quarter trading update that aligned with the company's earlier forecast. Photo by Kaihsu Tai, Wikimedia commons.