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London stocks were mixed at the open on Monday, with airlines under pressure following a weekend cyber attack, while miners lent support to the FTSE 100. The FTSE 100 index opened down 5.37 points, 0.1%, at 9,211.30. The FTSE 250 was down 43.69 points, 0.2%, at 21,546.24, and the AIM All-Share was up 4.58 points, 0.6%, at 778.18. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.2% at 922.98, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.2% at 18,852.03, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.3% at 17,353.80. In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris was 0.5% lower, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt slipped 0.6%. The pound was quoted broadly flat at $1.3474 early on Monday in London, compared to $1.3475 at the equities close on Friday. The euro stood slightly higher at $1.1749, against $1.1746. Against the yen, the dollar was trading up at JP¥148.05 compared to JP¥147.89. IAG opened down 1.4% on Monday. Gatwick Airport’s £2.2 billion second runway plan has been given the go-ahead by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander. In the privately-financed project, the West Sussex airport will move its emergency runway 12 metres north, enabling it to be used for departures of narrow-bodied planes such as Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s. This will enable it to be used for about 100,000 more flights a year. Airports, however, suffered after an alleged cyber attack over the weekend targeting a service provider for check-in and boarding systems. Heathrow, Brussels and Berlin airports all experienced delays and disruption on Saturday following the ‘technical issue’ affecting Collins Aerospace, which works for several airlines at multiple airports across the world. At the other end, miners led the FTSE 100. Endeavour Mining was up 4.1%, followed by Fresnillo, rising 3.6%, Glencore, 2.1% higher, and Rio Tinto, up 1.8%. Meanwhile, the UK’s new Work & Pensions Secretary has refused to rule out tightening eligibility for universal credit, saying welfare reform ‘is happening all the time’. Speaking to the BBC, Pat McFadden also did not rule out ending health-related universal credit payments for claimants under the age of 22. His comments come after the government’s decision to abandon proposed changes to personal independence payments and universal credit’s health-related benefits. WH Ireland lost 57% at London’s market open. The London-based wealth-management firm has agreed a conditional disposal of its wealth management business to Oberon Investments for £1 million, following the completion of which the board intends to begin a wind-down of the company. As a result, WH Ireland proposes a delisting from London’s AIM, as the disposal will render the firm a cash shell upon completion. WH Ireland anticipates distributing a dividend of around 0.5p per share within 12 months of the sale completing, but notes it will be ‘impossible’ to guarantee a timescale for the distribution as a result of the wind-down. OPG Power Ventures lost 22%. The Isle of Man-based developer and operator of power plants in India said the goods and services tax on coal in India was increased to 18% on Monday from 5%. At the same time, the ₹400 per tonne compensation cess previously levied on coal is expected to be abolished and subsumed within the new goods and services tax rate. OPG’s Indian power plants rely on coal as a primary fuel source, and the company expects an annual cost increase of around £2.5 million as a result of the tax changes. At the other end, N4 Pharma jumped 70%. The Derbyshire, England-based pharmaceutical company said it has now demonstrated the ability of Nuvec to deliver RNA to lung cancer cells, as part of its collaboration with non-profit research and development firm SRI. N4 also demonstrated the targeting of Nuvec to immune cells using mannose modification, N4 101, which is designed to be an orally delivered treatment for inflammatory bowel disease. ‘Targeting RNA therapies to particular cell types is highly sought after by companies developing RNA therapeutics. We have now demonstrated Nuvec’s ability to do this in multiple systems, which we believe sets it apart from other RNA delivery methods,’ said N4 Chief Executive Officer Nigel Theobold, adding: ‘These data generated with SRI are a significant step forward in that process, because of the high demand for targeted therapies to support deal-making and building our own differentiated RNA therapeutics pipeline.’ In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo improved 1.0%. In China, the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong shed 0.9%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.4%. In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.4%, the S&P 500 advancing 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite rising 0.7%. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.14%, unmoved from Friday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was also quoted unchanged at 4.75%. Brent oil was quoted higher at $67.12 a barrel early in London on Monday from $66.56 late Friday. Gold was quoted up at $3,714.43 an ounce against $3,670.59. Still to come on Monday’s economic calendar, eurozone consumer confidence data and the US Chicago Fed national activity index. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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