FTSE Climbs Higher On Pharma, Energy Strength

(RTTNews) - The UK stock market gained notable ground in positive territory on Monday, outperforming other major European markets, thanks to fairly strong buying in pharmaceuticals, energy and some heavyweight counters from other sectors.

Losses in mining and financial sectors limited market's upside.

Investors await a slew of crucial economic data and the Bank of England's monetary policy announcement this week.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 69.78 points or 0.66% at 10,720.22 about half an hour past noon.

The Sage Group climbed more than 6%. Relx surged 6.5%, LSEG gained 4.5%, Smith & Nephew moved up 4.1% and Experian advanced nearly 4%.

Diageo, Haleon, AutoTrader Group, British American Tobacco, Unilever, Tesco, Coca-Cola HBC, Pearson, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Reckitt Benckiser, Imperial Brands, Admiral Group and Sainsbury (J) gained 2%-3.4%.

GSK moved up 4.5% after positive clinical data for its lung-cancer drug Jideytro. Despite a setback for Etcamah, a breast-cancer drug, shares of AstraZeneca gained 3.5%.

Energy stocks BP and Shell gained 1.5% and 1.1%, respectively, as oil prices rose nearly 3% on supply concerns following Saudi Arabia shutting down a crucial pipeline after new Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and Iranian attacks on Gulf shipping. BT Group, BAE Systems, Informa, Legal & General, Standard Chartered, Standard Life, Marks & Spencer, Bunzl, Compass Group and Hiscox were among the other notable gainers.

Halma, Antofagsta, Polar Capital Technology Trust, Anglo American Plc, IAG and Weir Group shed 3%-5.4%.

Fresnillo, Glencore, Rio Tinto, IMI, Endeavour Mining, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Spirax Group, Metlen Energy & Metals, Barclays, Barratt Redrow, Centrica and Melrose Industries also declined sharply.