Early market roundup: FTSE 100 climbs before attention turns to budget

Stock prices in London moved higher on Monday morning, recovering some lost ground after a tough week, as investors look ahead to the UK government budget and interest rate decisions in the US and eurozone.

The FTSE 100 index opened up 48.28 points, 0.5%, at 10,738.64. The FTSE 250 was up 141.59 points, 0.6%, at 24,378.98, and the AIM All-Share was up 6.27 points, 0.8%, at 752.94.

The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.6% at 1,065.84, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.8% at 21,475.87, but the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.2% at 18,869.42.

In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.7%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt gained 0.6%.

In the UK, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called for an "honest discussion" about restoring freedom of movement between Britain and the European Union as part of a broader reassessment of the country's relationship with the bloc.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Burnham said he wanted an evidence-based debate on options including rejoining the EU or entering the single market, both of which would require the restoration of free movement.

He suggested that migration patterns during Britain's EU membership differed from those seen today, with many European workers moving to the UK temporarily before returning to their home countries.

However, Burnham said he could not envisage recommending that Britain adopt the euro or join the Schengen border-free travel area.

The prime minister is due to meet EU leaders at a summit in Brussels on November 20, where he plans to outline possible arrangements for the UK's future relationship with the bloc.

Meanwhile, Chancellor John Healey is preparing to announce £20.4 billion in additional funding for the National Wealth Fund and British Business Bank in Wednesday's budget, the Financial Times reported.

The pound was quoted at USD1.3347 early Monday, lower than USD1.3376 at the London equities close on Friday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1906 from EUR1.1946.

The euro rose to USD1.1206 early Monday from USD1.1196 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar edged up to JPY156.88 from JPY156.85.

ING analyst Chris Turner commented: "Separately, OAT-Bund spreads have narrowed this morning after Moody's maintained France's Aa3 rating on Friday. This means France retains at least one AA rating. While welcome news in the short term, we will need to see concrete and material progress on the French budget over the coming months to take pressure off the euro. That seems unlikely, and high energy prices are hardly helping."

In the FTSE 100, Computacenter was the standout performer, jumping 6.1% after raising its full-year profit outlook following stronger-than-expected third-quarter trading.

The technology and services provider now expects adjusted pretax profit of at least £425 million for 2026, ahead of company-compiled analyst consensus of £387.1 million.

Computacenter said strong demand from hyperscale and neocloud customers in North America and the UK had supported its performance during the quarter ended September 30.

Technology Sourcing revenue continued to grow strongly, while Services revenue increased year-on-year as growth in Professional Services more than offset a decline in Managed Services.

North America maintained strong momentum, with record project completions benefiting both Technology Sourcing and Professional Services.

The UK delivered excellent growth in Technology Sourcing and solid growth in Professional Services, while Germany reported a robust underlying performance, supported by strong Technology Sourcing growth and stable Professional Services revenue.

The group's committed product order backlog reached a record £12.6 billion at the end of September, up from £9.3 billion at the end of June.

Computacenter said it had made a strong start to the fourth quarter and continued to see a strong pipeline of opportunities in North America and the UK.

Mining stocks also advanced, with Antofagasta rising 2.9% and Fresnillo gaining 2.5%.

Gold was quoted at USD4,019.00 an ounce early Monday, higher than USD3,996.30 on Friday.

At the other end of the blue-chip index, Experian fell 1.6%.

In the FTSE 250, Molten Ventures climbed 5.3% after reporting an increase in net asset value per share, supported by strong portfolio performance.

The venture capital investment company said its net asset value per share stood at approximately 869 pence at September 30, up from 724p a year earlier.

Plus500 gained 4.0% after the trading platform operator said it expects full-year 2026 revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to exceed current market forecasts, following strong third-quarter trading and continued expansion in the US and Brazil.

Third-quarter revenue rose 11% to USD203.2 million from USD182.7 million a year earlier, while Ebitda increased 7.0% to USD88.4 million from USD82.7 million, representing a margin of 44%.

Man Group advanced 3.4% after expanding its strategic partnership with Japan's Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance.

The Japanese insurer intends to increase its capital commitment to Man Group's investment strategies to JPY200 billion, some USD1.25 billion, over the next three years, with a focus on private credit.

Among smaller companies, Catenai surged 22% after announcing that Sure Valley Ventures had become a paying customer of its investee company Alludium.

In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo closed down 0.1%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended 0.2% higher, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained 0.5%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.2%.

In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 1.2%, the S&P 500 declining 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite losing 0.2%.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.99% early Monday, narrowing from 5.02% on Friday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury narrowed to 5.31% from 5.33%.

Brent oil was trading at USD114.25 a barrel early Monday, lower than USD116.34 late Friday.

Still to come on Monday's economic calendar, Germany releases its latest ifo business climate index.

In addition to the UK budget, this week has rate decisions from the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve.

Analysts at Lloyds Bank commented: "The Fed (Wed) and ECB (Thu) are both expected to leave rates unchanged, shifting attention to the accompanying guidance. For the Fed, that comes alongside a substantial run of data, including Q3 GDP and September core PCE inflation, which should help clarify whether recent resilience in activity is being matched by slower progress on inflation. In the Eurozone, GDP and October inflation releases arrive either side of the ECB meeting and will shape the debate around the pace of any future easing."

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