LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Breaks 4-day Losing Streak As Oil Rallies

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

RBS plans to move jobs to India

U.K. stocks moved higher for the first time in five sessions on Monday, with energy companies leading the charge north as oil prices continued to rebound after a recent selloff.

The FTSE 100 index gained 0.6% to 7,472.16, after logging its lowest close since June 15 on Friday.

Shares of heavyweight Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) (RDSB.LN) climbed 0.9%, and BP (BP.LN) (BP.LN) picked up 0.6%. On the FTSE 250 index , shares of Tullow Oil PLC (TLW.LN) added 3.4%.

The gains came as crude oil prices rallied 1.3%, after sliding to a 10-month low last Wednesday on concerns that rising U.S. and Libyan supply would offset production cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Mining companies were also getting a boost from the upbeat sentiment on oil on Monday. Shares of Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) rose 1.3% and Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) (RIO) (RIO) added 0.7%. BHP Billiton PLC (BLT.LN) (BHP.AU) (BHP.AU) , which is moving ahead on a project to help maintain iron-ore production in Western Australia (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bhp-billiton-oks-initial-south-flank-funding-2017-06-26), picked up 0.7%.

In other sectors, shares of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS.LN) (RBS.LN) added 0.5%. The lender plans to cut 443 jobs and move many of them to India, according to media reports (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=newssearch&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiD74T8hNvUAhXELMAKHRmEAN4Qu4gBCCIoATAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbusiness%2F2017%2Fjun%2F25%2Frbs-to-cut-hundreds-of-uk-jobs-in-move-to-india&usg=AFQjCNEUWIls8UmqKuoRKdnXqYXtLAabhA).

The pound: Sterling rose to $1.2749, up from $1.2718 late Friday in New York.

"The U.K.'s post-election political uncertainty potentially comes to a head this week, with the parliamentary vote on the Queen's speech, and therefore [Prime Minister Theresa] May's ability to form a government, likely coming on Thursday," said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, in a note.

"As the week goes on, any signs as to whether or not the Prime Minister will be able to gather the required DUP votes to ensure she stays in power is going to be the main driver of trading for the pound," he added.

Read: Brexit one year later -- 5 ways the U.K. could now leave the EU (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/brexit-one-year-after-vote-here-are-the-5-possible-scenarios-for-the-eu-divorce-2017-06-20)

May is trying to secure backing from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to sustain a minority Conservative government, after her party lost its parliamentary majority in the general election earlier in June. That loss was a blow to the prime minister's standing as she leads the U.K. through the Brexit divorce (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/may-offers-permanent-residency-plan-for-eu-citizens-post-brexit-2017-06-22) negotiations, which began last week.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 26, 2017 04:04 ET (08:04 GMT)

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