London's main stock indexes inched higher on Monday as investors assessed a trade deal between the United States and the European Union. The internationally oriented FTSE 100 (.FTSE), opens new tab rose 0.1% as of 0926 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 index (.FTMC), opens new tab was up 0.3%. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. The U.S. struck a framework trade agreement with the EU on Sunday, which imposes a 15% tariff on most EU goods and requires the bloc to invest around $600 billion in the U.S. Advertisement · Scroll to continue British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Scotland on Monday for talks ranging from their recent bilateral trade deal to the worsening hunger crisis in Gaza. Automobiles and parts (.FTNMX401010), opens new tab stocks led the sectoral gains, up 1.1%. The real estate sector (.FTUB3510), opens new tab advanced 0.8%, with Rightmove (RMV.L), opens new tab up 2.3% and Segro (SGRO.L), opens new tab rising 1.1%. On the flip side, industrial miners (.FTNMX551020), opens new tab led the sectoral declines, down 0.9%, tracking lower metal prices. Miners Glencore (GLEN.L), opens new tab lost 1.4% and Rio Tinto (RIO.L), opens new tab fell 1%. In company news, GSK (GSK.L), opens new tab rose 1.3% after the drugmaker and China's Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals (600276.SS), opens new tab agreed on a $500 million deal to develop up to a dozen new medicines, including a promising candidate for a chronic lung condition. Ocean Wilsons Holdings (OCN.L), opens new tab lost 10.6%, top loser on the mid-cap FTSE 250 index, after the investment holding company and Hansa Investment (HAN.L), opens new tab agreed to an all-share merger to create a diversified investment firm with more than 900 million pounds ($1.21 billion) in net assets.
Meanwhile, the Bank of England is expected to slow the pace soon at which it shrinks its 558 billion-pound ($754 billion) holdings of government bonds, with economists hoping for some clarity next week on the central bank's longer-term goals for the stockpile. Traders are currently pricing in an 86.5% chance of a 25 basis point BoE cut on August 7, according to data compiled by LSEG.
