(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Monday as investors cheered Democrat Joe Biden's US presidential election win.
At 0835 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 1.5% at 6,000.72, taking its cue from a strong session in Asia, where Japan's Nikkei 225 hit its best level since 1991.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "It is the first opportunity for markets to react to the Biden news from the weekend and the early signs are promising.
"Asian markets had a brisk and positive session on hopes of a less fractious relationship between the US and China in the immediate future. Meanwhile, extremely early indications on the Dow futures pointed to an opening some 300 points, or just over 1%, higher as investor hopes for a Biden victory were confirmed.
"Despite the likelihood of the election result being contested, the fact that Congress will be divided is now being priced in, which is seen as a tailwind for markets since sweeping changes are more difficult to introduce. In particular, the previous concerns of higher taxes and less regulatory interference have subsided, while an early boost to the economy from further fiscal stimulus is seen to be on the immediate agenda."
Closer to home, Brexit talks are set to resume this week. CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said that while the narrative around this remains as fluid as ever, and varies according to whom you chose to talk to, "it is clear the main points of difference remain around fishing rights, and competitions rules, or the level playing field".
In equity markets, Taylor Wimpey surged as the housebuilder said full-year results would be at the upper end of expectations after better-than-expecting trading in the second half. Other housebuilders followed suit, with Persimmon and Barratt Developments also trading higher.
JD Sports racked up solid gains after an initiation at 'overweight' by JPMorgan Cazenove.
Transport operator FirstGroup rallied after it agreed precautionary amendments to its debt terms with banks and bondholders for 2021.
On the downside, TP Icap lost ground after saying it expects annual revenue at constant currency in line with the year before as income fell in the third quarter.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,000.72 1.53%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,176.82 1.45%
techMARK (TASX) 3,786.09 1.34%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 133.60p 8.35%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 781.60p 4.13%
M&G (MNG) 164.40p 3.85%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,721.00p 3.78%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,984.00p 3.77%
Aveva Group (AVV) 4,201.00p 3.63%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,110.00p 3.06%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 130.50p 3.00%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 557.20p 2.92%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 106.50p 2.80%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 649.60p 0.09%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 584.40p 0.59%
SEGRO (SGRO) 957.60p 0.63%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 7,156.00p 0.65%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,529.00p 0.66%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,964.00p 0.68%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 340.20p 0.71%
Homeserve (HSV) 1,227.00p 0.74%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,467.00p 0.76%
National Grid (NG.) 942.20p 0.77%
FTSE 250 - Risers
FirstGroup (FGP) 47.98p 6.15%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 12,040.00p 5.06%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 30.00p 4.09%
Vistry Group (VTY) 638.00p 4.08%
Investec (INVP) 157.55p 3.99%
Royal Mail (RMG) 263.30p 3.99%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 426.60p 3.95%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,804.00p 3.88%
Law Debenture Corp. (LWDB) 547.00p 3.80%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 2,790.00p 3.72%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
TP ICAP (TCAP) 194.40p -2.02%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,698.00p -0.93%
UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (UDG) 732.00p -0.61%
Foresight Solar Fund Limited (FSFL) 102.50p -0.49%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 799.00p -0.37%
Avon Rubber (AVON) 4,270.00p -0.35%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 811.00p -0.25%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 940.00p -0.17%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 249.60p -0.16%
Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,434.00p 0.00%