UK Stocks Turning In Mixed Performance; FTSE 100 Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks are modestly higher Monday morning, led by gains in defense shares amid expectations of increased government spending for the sector.

Weakness in the energy space limit market's upside.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 25.00 points or 0.3% at 8,684.37 a little while ago.

Centrica is gaining nearly 5% and BAE Systems is up 3%. GSK is gaining nearly 2% after initiating a £2bn share buyback program.

Vodafone Group, Land Securities, SSE, Imperial Brands, United Utilites and British American Tobacco are up 1.5 to 2%.

National Grid is up 1.5% after the company announced that it has agreed to sell its National Grid Renewables U.S. onshore renewables business to Brookfield Asset Management.

Melrose Industries, Auto Trader Group, Smith & Nephew, Haleon, Persimmon, Vistry Group, Barratt Redrow, Taylor Wimpey, Beazley and AstraZeneca are up 1 to 1.4%.

B&M European Value Retail is plunging nearly 9% after the company lowered its earnings guidance for fiscal year 2025. The company now expects group adjusted EBITDA, pre-IFRS 16, to be in the range of 605 million pounds to 625 million pounds compared to the prior estimation of 620 million pounds to 650 million pound.

The company has also announced that Alex Russo will retire as Group Chief Executive and a Director of the Company with effect from 30 April 2025, and added that its is in the advanced stages of a recruitment process to appoint a new Chief Executive Officer with the support of a leading executive search firm.

Antofagasta is down 2.7% and Flutter Entertainment is down 2.3%. Anglo American Plc, Entain, InterContinental, Pershing Square Holdings, Standard Chartered, Fresnillo, Intermediate Capital, Scottish Mortgage, Natwest Group and Rio Tinto are declining 1 to 2%.