By Bansari Mayur Kamdar
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-London's blue-chip index gained on Monday as higher commodity prices lifted oil and mining stocks, while shares in HSBC rose after the Asia-focussed bank reported a higher-than-expected profit.
The FTSE 100 ended 0.3% higher, with HSBC adding 1.9% to hit a more-than four month high after the bank reported a 74% rise in third-quarter profit and announced a share buyback of $2 billion.
Miners were the biggest boost to the index, adding 2.0% as copper prices rebounded from a fall last week, as inventories in Shanghai exchange warehouses dropped to a more than 12-year low. [MET/L]
Oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell climbed 1.6% and 1.5% respectively, as crude prices hit multi-year highs amid tightening supply and rising fuel demand. [O/R]
Bolstered by soaring oil and gas prices fuelled by a supply shortage, UK's energy sector has gained nearly 38.8% this year, outperforming the 12.2% rise in the blue-chip FTSE 100 index.
"Whatever you raise interest rates to in the UK, it is not going to have a material impact on the price of gas or oil, because there is a genuine shortage," said Stuart Cole, macro economist at Equiti Capital. "So if you're a producer, it is happy days."
Bank of England rate setter Silvana Tenreyro said the rise in inflation pressure from surging energy prices was likely to fade quickly, while also adding that she needed more time to judge how the end of the government's job-saving furlough scheme was affecting the labour market, adding to signs that she sees no urgency to raise rates.
The domestically focussed mid-cap index was flat, with Darktrace Plc among the worst performers on the index, down 20.7%, after Peel Hunt initiated coverage with "sell" rating.
Africa-focused Tullow Oil Plc gained 1.4% after it named Phuthuma Nhleko, former boss of South African telecom major MTN Group, the chairman-designate on Monday.
Gold mining company Petropavlovsk PLC fell 1.5% after it reported a fall in year-on-year gold production in the third quarter.