UK's FTSE 100 opened higher on Monday, lifted by lenders and precious metal miners, but mid-cap oilfield services and engineering firm John Wood Group logged its worst day ever after Apollo Global walked away from a potential deal.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.3% up, extending gains from Friday, after data showed the domestic economy grew slightly in the first quarter of the year.

Precious metals miners were the biggest boost, gaining 1.5%, tracking gains in bullion prices.

Banks were up by 0.8% at 8:28 GMT.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 rose marginally by 0.01% as shares of John Wood Group dragged the domestically-focussed index lower.

The oilfield services provider slumped 33.8% after the U.S. private equity firm said that it does not intend to make a takeover offer for the oilfield services provider.

"Clearly investors were excited about the possibility of a takeover by Apollo, and the fact that no agreement has been reached is a disappointment," said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.

Last week, the FTSE indexes closed lower, with the export-focused FTSE 100 ending its third-straight week in declines - its longest streak of weekly losses in seven months.

Half-way into May, top gaining FTSE firms lie in the defensive segment such as utilities and healthcare, while cyclical sectors including commodity-linked stocks have been the most hit.

Among other movers, Currys PLC jumped 5.7%, logging its best day in over three months after the electricals retailer raised its profit outlook for 2022-23 after better-than-expected trading in its home market in the final two months of the year.

The retail sector housing the stock added 0.2%.

Pembridge Resources Plc slumped 72.4% and hit a record low as the miner's board started a process of assessing the firm's ability to continue as a going concern. (Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)


Reuters