LONDON (AFP) – London’s stock market closed on a firmer note Monday as investors looked ahead to key earnings updates out of the United States. The benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading shares climbed 0.26 percent to 5,672.40 points.
Vodafone was the most traded stock, seeing 623 million shares switch owners, followed by Lloyds, which saw 57.5 million units change hands.
Man Group was the top blue-chip performer, adding 6.60 pence — or 2.64 percent — to end at 257, followed by Petrofac, which rose 35 pence — or 2.51 percent — to end at 1428.
Autonomy was the biggest casualty, shedding 35 pence — or 2.30 percent — to end at 1485, followed by Reckitt Benckiser, which was down 54 pence — or 1.56 percent — at 3403.
Meanwhile, the pound fell against both the euro and the dollar.
At 17:05 BST, sterling was trading at 1.5883 dollars, down from 1.5960 dollars at the same time last Friday, while the currency stood at 1.1448 euros , slipping from 1.1455 euros over the same period.