British stocks began the week positively with the FTSE 100 closing up 0.5% and the FTSE 250 rising 0.3%, rebounding from Friday’s declines. Investors reacted to President Joe Biden’s decision to end his re-election campaign and assessed the impact on the upcoming U.S. election.

Chris Beauchamp, IG Group’s chief market analyst, noted, “Markets have shaken off last week’s volatility.”

Key Movers:

  • Rentokil surged 7.8% amid takeover bid rumours involving Philip Jansen.
  • Entain climbed 1.8% after appointing Gavin Isaacs as the new CEO.
  • Wizz Air dropped 10% following Ryanair’s profit miss.
  • Ocado soared 12.2% after Kroger ordered new automated technologies.

Investors are also eyeing upcoming U.S. GDP and inflation data and Wall Street earnings from Alphabet and Tesla for further market direction.