FX.co ★ FTSE 100 Trades Higher on Monday

The FTSE 100 experienced an upward trend on Monday, building on a 3.9% increase in October, driven largely by advances in financial and energy stocks. Notably, Standard Chartered increased by over 2%, Prudential by nearly 2%, and Legal & General by 1.6% as anticipation built ahead of the Bank of England's policy announcement on Thursday, with most economists forecasting no change in interest rates. Energy stocks also saw gains, spurred by a rise in crude oil prices following OPEC+'s decision to halt planned output increases. Shell saw a nearly 1% rise, and BP climbed more than 1% after agreeing to sell stakes in two U.S. onshore assets to the private equity firm Sixth Street for $1.5 billion. This move aligns with BP's strategy to divest $20 billion by 2027. Despite the sale, BP will maintain operational control via its U.S. subsidiary, BPX Energy, although its holdings in the Permian and Eagle Ford midstream assets will decrease. Conversely, mining stocks underperformed, with Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Glencore, and Anglo American falling between 0.7% and 1.3% due to less favorable economic data from China, which affected market sentiment.