London stocks experienced a rebound on Monday, with both the blue-chip FTSE 100 index and the mid-cap FTSE 250 showing gains. Investors were busy digesting corporate updates and evaluating the potential consequences of U.S. President Joe Biden withdrawing from the reelection race.
Rentokil stood out during the trading session, surging 12.3% to claim the top spot on the FTSE 100. Reports emerged suggesting that Philip Jansen, former chief of BT Group, is exploring a private equity-backed takeover bid for the pest-control firm. This news reverberated across the broader industrial support services sector, propelling it 2.6% higher.
Despite Friday’s declines, the market as a whole made a recovery, with most sub-sectors posting gains. However, travel and leisure stocks took a hit, declining by 1%. Airlines like Wizz Air and IAG Group faced losses of 3%-5%, largely due to the disappointing quarterly profit results of Irish peer Ryanair.
Interesting developments in the political arena added an extra layer of complexity to the market landscape. U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to step back from the reelection race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate against Republican Donald Trump in the upcoming election had ripple effects. In response to this news, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures both inched higher.
With key economic data such as gross domestic product and inflation figures from the U.S. on the horizon, investors are eagerly awaiting further insights into the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy direction. Moreover, attention will be focused on corporate earnings reports, particularly those from prominent companies like Alphabet and Tesla in the U.S. and Entain, Ocado, and Hammerson in the UK.
Entain saw a 4.2% increase in its stock value after announcing the appointment of Gavin Isaacs as its new CEO. Ocado experienced a significant jump of 6.3% on the FTSE 250 following news that its U.S. partner Kroger had placed an order for a variety of new automated technologies. Hammerson also made headlines by advancing 6.5% after revealing an agreement to sell its interest in Value Retail for an enterprise value of 1.5 billion pounds.