London share prices were higher early Monday amid hopes for a diplomatic solution to the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, but conflicting comments about a possible summit meeting kept the market on edge, while a US holiday is expected to reduce trading volume.
On Sunday, France said a summit between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Ukraine was possible. However, the Kremlin on said Monday it was too early to organise such a summit.
'It's premature to talk about any specific plans for organising any kind of summits', Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that no 'concrete plans' had been put in place for a meeting.
MARKET MOVES
The FTSE 100 index was up 55 points or 0.7% at 7,568 points in early trading on Monday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 77 points or 0.4% at 21,440 points while the AIM All-Share index was down 3 points or 0.3% at 1,057 points.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.5%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.8% early Monday.
In Asia on Monday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.8%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended marginally lower, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed down 0.7%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.2%.
The pound was quoted at $1.3654 early Monday, up from $1.3584 on Friday, while the euro traded at $1.1375, up from $1.1334. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at Y114.95 in London, down from Y115.11.
'If Putin is mainly interested in a selfie with Biden rather than the sovereignty of a European neighbour-state the problem can be overcome. And in that case, it is right that the news Biden was willing to hold such a summit caused significant risk-on moves on the FX market this morning', commented Ulrich Leuchtmann of Commerzbank.
'However, I have my doubts as to whether the price the Russian economy has to pay for this selfie is justified.'
Brent oil was quoted at $93.48 a barrel Monday morning, up from $92.85 at the close Friday. Gold stood at $1,893.72 an ounce, flat from $1,893.40 on Friday.
In the economics calendar Monday, there are PMI readings due from Germany, eurozone, and the UK. Wall Street will be closed on Monday for the Presidents Day holiday.
STOCK MOVES
In the FTSE 100, Russian steelmaker Evraz opened 4.3% higher on optimism that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could be averted. BY 9.30am however its gains had faded, leaving the shares flat at 283p.
Dechra Pharmaceuticals ticked up 10p to £37.94 after the veterinary products firm said it delivered strong interim results amid increased consumer spending on pets during Covid-19 restrictions.
For the six months that ended December 31, Dechra posted pretax profit of £53.4 million, up 51% from £35.4 million a year earlier, on revenue of £322.4 million, up 7.5% on the previous year.
The Northwich, Cheshire-based firm declared an interim dividend of 12.00 pence, up 8.1% from 11.11p.
Looking ahead, Dechra said trading at the start of the second half remained strong, especially in major markets, which are returning to historic levels of growth.
Shares in Anglo American added 1% to £35.55 after the miner announced the restarting of its Grosvenor metallurgical coal mining operation in Queensland, Australia.
Anglo American said it had received confirmation from regulator Resources Safety & Health Queensland on Wednesday last week that longwall mining operations could now start up once more, following a gas incident which led to an explosion on a longwall face in May 2020.
Looking ahead, while export metallurgical coal production guidance for 2022 remains between 20 million and 22 million tonnes, the effect of Covid-19 early in the year and a later-than-expected resumption of operations at Grosvenor, means that output is expected to be at the lower end of guidance.
In addition, unit cost guidance for 2022 has been raised to $85 per tonne compared to $80 previously, although it marked an improvement from $105 in 2021.
In the FTSE 250, Hammerson was up 0.4% to 37.2p after the retail landlord confirmed it was in discussions with entities related to Swiss property investor Redical Holdings for the sale of its Victoria Gate and Victoria Quarter shopping centres in Leeds.
Elsewhere in London, shares in Made.com were down 4.4% to 77.4p after the online furniture retailer said chief executive Philippe Chainieux has stepped down immediately 'for family reasons'. Chief Operating Officer Nicola Thompson will take over as interim CEO.
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