LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Ends Higher, Rebounding From 3-month Low As North Korea Fears Subside

By Sara Sjolin and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

Oil slide as worries over OPEC supply persist

U.K. stocks closed higher Monday, bringing an end to a three-session losing run as investor anxiety over tensions between the U.S. and North Korea subsided.

The FTSE 100 index rose 0.6% to finish at 7,353.89, rebounding after closing Friday at its lowest level since early May (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-heads-for-1-month-low-as-trump-ups-the-ante-in-north-korea-standoff-2017-08-11).

The blue-chip benchmark last week slid 2.7%, suffering its biggest weekly decline since the April, thanks in part to a war of words between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which fueled fears of military action.

However, on Sunday U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson wrote the Trump administration was seeking diplomatic solutions (http://nation.foxnews.com/2017/08/13/mattis-and-tillerson-were-holding-pyongyang-account) to achieve the "irreversible denuclearization" of North Korea. Additionally, national security adviser H.R. McMaster and Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo agreed that a conflict is avoidable and that an attack by North Korea doesn't appear imminent.

"The geopolitical tensions that have been driving traders into safe haven assets in recent days seem to be dissipating a touch," said Richard Perry, market analyst at Hantec Markets, in a note.

Stock movers: TUI AG climbed 4.8% for the FTSE 100's biggest gain. Credit Suisse analysts lifted their rating for the travel operator to neutral from underperform, saying they see upside potential in the company's earnings, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

Miners were also notable advancers in London on Monday, unfazed by data showing industrial output in China -- a huge consumer of commodities -- slowed in July (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-industrial-output-slows-down-in-july-2017-08-13).

Shares in Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) rose 3.1%, Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN) added 1.5%, and Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) (RIO) (RIO) gained 1.3%.

Mining companies are "some of the biggest gainers on the FTSE 100 today even though China's data overnight failed to impress investors," said David Madden, a CMC Markets UK analyst, in a note.

Energy companies, on the other hand, declined as oil prices slumped, with concerns over rising production continuing to grip the market. Shares in Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) (RDSB.LN) fell 0.1%, while Tullow Oil PLC (TLW.LN) gave up 0.4%. BP PLC shares (BP.LN) (BP.LN) were down 0.4%.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 14, 2017 12:22 ET (16:22 GMT)

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