Index shrugs off the blues after bad week

The FTSE 100 turned around the Monday morning blues to end in the black after reopening following its worst week in nearly a year.

Britain’s blue-chip index rose 42.5 points to end the day on 7197.88, after falling as low as 7132.98 earlier.

The top flight of companies shrugged off the morning’s worries after it opened down nearly 16 points, adding to a 270point loss last week.

The index was pushed higher by British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG), which soared, with shares closing up 13.9p to 468.6p as more passengers chose the airline in September.

Markets in Europe had been posting modest gains as investors look forward to trade talks between the US and China.

Germany’s Dax rose 0.7%, while French index Cac was up 0.61%.

The price of international oil standard Brent crude rose by more than 2% in the midafternoon, before giving back some gains, fetching 59.18 dollars per barrel.

Sterling was largely unchanged versus the dollar and the euro, falling 0.1% against both. It was worth 1.23211 dollars and 1.12163 euros.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were International Consolidated Airlines Group, up 13.9p at 468.6p, NMC Health, up 70p at 2,571p, Centrica, up 1.8p at 71.46p, Hiscox, up 31p at 1,603p, and Fresnillo, up12.6pat 674.8p. The biggest fallers were JD Sport, down 19.4p to 734.8p, Associated British Foods, down 40p to 2,165p, Informa, down 14p to 783p, Coca-Cola HBC, down 43p to 2,546p, and Hargreaves Lansdown, down 26p to 1,790.5p.