London stocks rise amid broader gains, commodity shares limit climb

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By Shubham Batra and Nikhil Sharma

(Reuters) -The UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 rose on Monday in a broader rally led by travel and leisure shares, as well as aerospace and defence stocks, though losses in commodity-linked companies restricted overall gains.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 gained 0.43% by 1601 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 was up 0.14%.

The travel and leisure sector rose 1.38% after online train ticket seller Trainline advanced 9.5%. The company raised its full-year revenue forecast for the second time in less than two months.

Additionally, Melrose’s shares rose 9.3%, topping the blue chip index and lifting the aerospace and defence sector 0.9%, as aerospace components supplier released risk- and revenue-sharing partnerships explainer.

In contrast, precious metal miners led the sectoral losses and slipped 1.7% as gold prices came under pressure against a stronger U.S. dollar and Treasury yields. [GOL/]

Similarly, energy shares fell 1.6% as oil prices slid around $5 a barrel after Israel’s retaliatory strike on Iran avoided Tehran’s oil and nuclear facilities and did not disrupt energy supplies. [O/R]

Both BP and Shell were down over 1.6% each, while Ithaca Energy was the biggest drag on the sector and lost 2.4%.

Meanwhile, British business confidence sank to a four-month low in October ahead of the first budget plan from the country’s new government, a survey showed on Monday, echoing other signs of corporate nervousness about possible tax increases.

Investors paid attention to the budget scheduled for Oct. 30, where UK’s finance minister, Rachel Reeves, faces a tough task of raising the tax revenues needed to invest more in public services and new infrastructure.

On Monday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the case of lifting taxes to rebuild public services and fix the foundations of the economy.

The Bank of England’s monetary policy decision is due next week, where the top bank is widely expected to trim interest rates by 25 basis points.

(Reporting by Shubham Batra and Nikhil Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Maju Samuel)