(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 opened higher on Monday, shaking off falls for Shell and BP as oil prices slumped.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 13.33 points, 0.2%, at 8,262.17. The FTSE 250 was up 89.53 points, 0.4%, at 20,909.44, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.81 points, 0.3%, at 724.48.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 827.28, the Cboe UK 250 rose 0.5% at 18,425.01, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.1% at 16,897.53.
In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.9%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt rose 0.2%.
There are several risk events over the next week or so from both sides of the Atlantic. Wednesday is the UK budget announcement, Friday has US jobs data and next week is the US presidential election.
The pound was quoted at USD1.2966 early Monday, down from USD1.2979 at the London equities close on Friday, The euro stood at USD1.0811, down from USD1.0813. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY153.33, up from JPY152.07.
"It looks like Donald Trump is edging ahead in opinion polls – although the outcome of next week's election remains a toss-up given the polling margin of error. Financial markets, however, seem to be pricing a clean Republican sweep. This week has a jam-packed data calendar and we see little to challenge the dollar's dominance until Friday's US jobs report," analysts at ING commented.
In Tokyo on Monday, the Nikkei 225 surged 1.8%. In China, the Shanghai Composite added 0.7%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was up marginally. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1%.
Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Monday he was not considering a broader coalition, raising the possibility that he could form a minority government.
"At this point, I do not envisage forming a coalition. I think our starting point needs to be thorough discussions that allow us to humbly accept individual policies" from lawmakers outside the coalition, he told reporters after Sunday's election.
Ishiba faced the prospect of minority rule Monday after his gamble of snap elections backfired with the ruling party's worst election result in 15 years.
Ishiba, 67, called Sunday's election days after taking office on October 1, but voters angry at a slush fund scandal punished his Liberal Democratic Party, which has governed Japan almost non-stop since 1955.
"We are receiving severe judgement," Ishiba said late Sunday as footage showed gloomy faces at the conservative party's headquarters.
The Japanese people "expressed their strong desire for the LDP to do some reflection and become a party that will act in line with the people's will", he said.
Commerzbank analyst Volkmar Baur commented: "Well, that did not work out. Ishiba Shigeru was supposed to be the saviour a month ago. After scandals and public discontent forced his predecessor Fumio Kishida to resign, the plain-speaking backbencher was brought in to clean up the party and regain the public's trust. Now he faces the possibility of one of the shortest tenures of any Japanese prime minister in decades.
"A minority government or an unstable multi-party coalition could be cyclically positive for the JPY. Such a government would likely pursue populist policies, increase fiscal spending and postpone fiscal consolidation. In this case, the Bank of Japan may feel compelled to raise interest rates more aggressively. For now, however, uncertainty will prevail."
Brent oil was quoted at USD72.60 a barrel, slumping from USD75.98. Gold was quoted at USD2,742.16 an ounce, rising from USD2,737.99.
Iran said it was obliged to defend itself, after Israeli retaliatory strikes hit military targets and killed two soldiers in the Islamic republic on Saturday.
"Iran has the right and the duty to defend itself against foreign acts of aggression," the foreign ministry said in a statement, citing Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
The Iranian army said two soldiers were killed in Israeli air strikes on military installations in the Islamic republic on Saturday, according to a statement carried by state television.
"The army of the Islamic Republic of Iran lost two of its fighters during the night when they faced projectiles from the criminal Zionist regime in defence of its territory," the statement said.
Brown Brothers Harriman analysts commented: "Israel’s response to the ballistic missile attack by Iran on October 1 was more restrained than expected. Israel struck multiple military targets rather than Iran's oil infrastructure or nuclear facilities as was feared. The prospect of a full-blown war between Iran and Israel may have diminished but it remains a significant source of geopolitical risk."
Shell and BP tracked oil prices lower, falling 1.9% and 1.6%.
Trainline surged 11%. The rail ticketing platform operator upped its guidance.
It now expects annual net ticket sales of 12% to 14%, its outlook bumped up from the top end of an 8% to 12% growth range. A revenue rise between 11% and 13% is now expected, the forecast raised from the top end of a 7% to 11% range.
It now expects adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be around 2.6% of net ticket sales. Its previous guidance was for it to exceed 2.5%.
In the six months to August 31, net ticket sales were up 14% year-on-year GBP3.0 billion, and revenue rose 17% GBP229 million. Its adjusted Ebitda shot up 44% to GBP82 million.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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