UK indexes climb as banks lead gains, oil prices retreat

By Reuters News

Sept 21 (Reuters) - London shares climbed on Monday, with bank stocks leading gains, as risk appetite worldwide got a lift after oil prices retreated on hopes of diplomatic progress in the Middle East.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE rose 0.73% to 10,737.66 points by 0932 GMT after declining almost 1.5% in the last session. The midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC climbed 0.69%.

  • Heavyweight banks .FTNMX301010 were among the top gainers, with HSBC HSBA.L climbing 1.6%, Barclays BARC.L rising 2.3% and Standard Chartered STAN.L gaining 2.1%.

  • Industrial miners .FTNMX551020 rose 1.8% as copper prices edged up over optimism regarding resilient Chinese demand. Antofagasta ANTO.L and Anglo American AAL.L jumped about 3.4%. MET/L

  • Oil prices slid to their lowest in more than a week over hopes for diplomatic progress on the US-Iran war due to this week's UN meeting. Oil majors BP BP.L and Shell SHEL.L dipped near 1% each. O/R

  • Falling crude prices also boosted travel-related companies, with airline operator IAG ICAG.L rising more than 1%.

  • Homebuilder Barratt Redrow BTRW.L slipped 2.1% after brokerage Peel Hunt downgraded the stock to "hold" from "add".

  • Healthcare investment firm Syncona SYNCS.L leaped 5.7% after its portfolio company Beacon Therapeutics' Phase II/III VISTA trial met US FDA-endorsed primary endpoint for gene therapy laru-zova.

  • Craneware CRW.L plummeted 23% after the healthcare financial software firm cut its full-year revenue outlook.

  • Investor focus would be on this week's meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President XI Jinping, seeking clues on trade relations and economic outlook.

  • "Hopes of improved relations between the world's two largest economies were boosted by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent describing weekend discussions with Chinese officials as successful," AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said.

  • British government bond yields eased after jumping last week, while the pound dipped 0.1% a week after the Bank of England last week kept interest rates unchanged.

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