FTSE 100 edges higher as energy and financial heavyweights provide support

The FTSE 100 is trading at around 10,824 points shortly after Monday’s opening bell. Investors are buying into several of the index’s heavyweight constituents at the start of the week, helping the UK benchmark post modest gains and outperform the broader European market trend.

Although the gains remain limited, energy-related stocks and oil majors are benefiting from stronger demand, putting shares of SSE, BP and Shell among the early winners. Investors are also focusing on banks and insurers, adopting a more defensive stance at the beginning of the week. This is supporting shares of HSBC, Standard Chartered and Standard Life.

The defensive composition of the FTSE 100 acted as a drag during last week’s more growth-driven market environment. At the start of this week, however, that same characteristic is proving an advantage, giving the UK benchmark relative strength compared with other major European equity indices.