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Monday Morning Markets: FTSE 100 Climbs as RELX and Defence Names Lead, Next and EasyJet in Focus

London shares are trading higher early on Monday, with the FTSE 100 up 0.5% and the FTSE 250 gaining 0.4%. 

On the continent, Germany’s DAX has risen 0.2%, the CAC 40 has added 0.5% and the Stoxx 50 is up 0.1%. 

Oil edged lower in early trade, while gold has reversed earlier overnight gains as the dollar firms.

In corporate news, a few of big names are in focus…

According to a report from Sky News, Next is preparing a takeover bid for luxury department store chain Harvey Nichols.

Meanwhile, EasyJet said it has reached an “agreement in principle” with US private credit firm Castlelake over a takeover deal worth approximately £6.90 per share.

ITV is trading higher after it announced the sale of its Media and Entertainment (M&E) business to Sky.

Topping the FTSE 100 risers board, RELX has jumped 3.26%, although the stock is still down over 20% year-to-date. 

Housebuilder Barratt Redrow has gained 2.84%, while BAE Systems has added 2.55% and Babcock International is trading 2.5% higher, as the recent gains for defense stocks continue amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and government spending announcements.

On the downside, Halma has slipped 1.40%, while miner Fresnillo has fallen 0.99%, giving back some of the gains made in the second half of last week as gold prices cooled from overnight highs. 

Airtel Africa has dropped 0.93%.

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Sam Boughedda
Team Member

Sam is a trader and lead stock market writer at AskTraders. After starting his career in the forex market, Sam now focuses on stocks, specifically consumer staples.