(Sharecast News) - London stocks finished firmly on the front foot on Monday, as oil prices eased and sentiment revived after a choppy few days.
The FTSE 100 closed the session up 1.02% at 10,782.87. Benchmark Brent crude fell 4% to $94.14 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was trading 3% lower at $87.80, after Donald Trump said new attacks on Iran were unlikely while talks to end the conflict progress.
Speaking to CNN, the US president said: "It depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement.
"The answer is, highly unlikely it's going to be necessary."
The upswing in the blue chip index followed a week of whipsaw trading worldwide, when tech stocks were aggressively sold off before rebounding the next day. Over the weekend it the emerged that AI chip giant Nvidia has launched an investigation after founder Jensen Huang admitted having an affair with a woman suspected of spying for China.
In a memo sent to employees, Huang - who has led the business for more than 30 years - admitted: "I owe my family and all of you an apology. I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.
"I love our country and our company. I am committed to protecting Nvidia and supporting America's national security."
Separately, Nvidia confirmed the board was launching an independent investigation "in light of recent reporting that...Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort".
Neither the company nor Huang named the woman. However, she was widely reported to be Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore-based Nvidia customer Megaspeed. US officials believe she was recruited by China's Ministry of State Security intelligence agency.
A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said allegations "about Chinese spies are entirely groundless, speculative and intended to smear and malign China".
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "Big daily swings are a characteristic of stock market corrections, but at some point they turn into sustained bounces. Investors appear to be betting that this is the case today, with the turn marked ironically enough by the weekend surprise about Jensen Huang.
"The Nasdaq finds itself back above Wednesday's lows, while solid gains are seen across of a host of other indices. A slump in oil prices is welcome news of course, but the slump last week in tech stocks may have been the reset markets needed."
In London, Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Anglo American, Rio Tinto, Glencore, Endeavour Mining, Hochschild and Pan African Resources all rose as gold prices inched higher on the back of crude's decline.
British Airways owner IAG and FTSE 250 carrier Wizz Air Holdings were also both sharply higher on the back of the lower oil price.
Rising towards the top of the blue chip fallers' board was Premier Inn-owner Whitbread, after shareholders voted down an attempt by activist investor Corvex Management to install a partner on the board.
The US hedge fund is the blue chip's third-largest shareholder, with a stake of around 6%, and in September demanded that partner James Gemmel be appointed to the board with immediate effect. However, on Monday shareholders rejected the move, with 83.41% of those partaking voting against the resolution.
Christine Hodgson, chair, said: "The overwhelming majority of our shareholders have voted decisively to back the board and our strategy, and I would like to thank them for their support.
"We will now continue to focus on delivering our five-year plan, which has clear and measurable milestones to drive significant value for shareholders, and which we are already executing at pace."
Corporate releases were generally scarce, but digital technology firm Kainos tumbled despite posting a rise in first-half profit and revenue. Russ Mould, AJ Bell's investment director, said: "Investors were unimpressed by evidence of pressure on gross margins and an underwhelming full-year outlook.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,782.87 1.02%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,706.34 0.82%
techMARK (TASX) 6,192.24 0.65%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,305.00p 6.17%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,894.00p 5.21%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,320.60p 4.71%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,054.50p 4.41%
Glencore (GLEN) 515.40p 4.09%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,913.00p 4.01%
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,638.00p 3.90%
Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 13,280.00p 3.83%
Prudential (PRU) 956.60p 3.69%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 450.70p 3.41%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Haleon (HLN) 330.80p -2.39%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,763.00p -2.26%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,899.00p -2.22%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,477.00p -1.97%
BT Group (BT.A) 213.40p -1.66%
Relx plc (REL) 2,974.00p -1.39%
Pearson (PSON) 1,278.00p -1.31%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,140.50p -1.26%
Experian (EXPN) 3,027.00p -1.21%
Croda International (CRDA) 3,622.00p -1.20%
FTSE 250 - Risers
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 5,335.00p 9.86%
Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) 179.00p 6.17%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,127.00p 6.12%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,574.00p 5.67%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 4,284.00p 5.31%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 513.00p 5.25%
Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 256.00p 5.13%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 275.60p 4.48%
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 285.00p 4.38%
HGCapital Trust (HGT) 392.00p 4.09%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,077.00p -12.44%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 977.50p -3.79%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 256.80p -2.87%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 312.00p -2.50%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 429.60p -2.41%
Michael Page (PAGE) 206.20p -2.27%
Hays (HAS) 57.30p -2.13%
Johnson Service Group (JSG) 146.50p -2.07%
AJ Bell (AJB) 565.50p -1.91%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 4,290.00p -1.83%