UK equities saw modest gains on Monday following a Nationwide report indicating a 0.2% increase in house prices for June, despite ongoing elevated interest rates.
On an annual basis, house prices climbed 1.5% in June, an improvement from the 1.3% rise observed in May. Earlier, property website Rightmove had reported that house prices rose 0.6% year-on-year in June, consistent with the growth rate in May.
Conversely, the Bank of England's recent report disclosed a decline in mortgage approvals, dropping to 60,000 in May from 60,800 in April.
The UK's manufacturing sector showed continued expansion at the end of Q2, with the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) finalizing at 50.9 in June, slightly down from May's 22-month high of 51.2.
The benchmark FTSE 100 index rose by 24 points, or 0.3%, to 8,187 after experiencing four consecutive days of losses.
In corporate developments, Anglo American, a leading mining company, saw its shares drop nearly 3%. The company halted production at its Grosvenor steelmaking coal mine in Queensland, Australia, following an underground coal gas ignition incident.
Conversely, Petrofac experienced a 4.5% surge. The energy services firm announced an extension of its forbearance agreement with noteholders concerning the non-payment of interest on senior secured notes, moving the deadline from June 30 to July 25, 2024.
