The FTSE 100 gained 0.5 percent on Monday, closing at 6,146.38 points, as shares in AstraZeneca surged and oil stocks rallied.
The market’s biggest riser was pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.
Shares in AstraZeneca rose 4 percent after the US FDA asked one of its main competitors Clovis Oncology for additional clinical data for a lung cancer drug – similar to the one that AstraZeneca received US approval for last week.
Taylor Wimpey climbed up 4.1 percent after reporting a better-than-expected summer selling season which is forecast to extend through the autumn season. The company is expected to report a 2% rise in 2015 operating profit margin and a return on net operating assets of over 25%.
Travel and leisure companies posted the biggest loses.
Tui AG and International Consolidated Airlines Group both plunged on Monday following the Paris attacks. TUI fell 4.1 percent, Carnival dropped 2.5 percent, and International Consolidated Airlines fell 2.8 percent.
Commerzbank economist Peter Dixon was quoted by Reuters as saying:
“I don’t want to say that we have got used to these things, but the markets have learnt to realise that the attacks tend to have very limited impact upon the economy and markets,”
“Sectors like travel and leisure are going to take a hit as people re-plan their travel needs, but it’s an out-of-the-season period and not happening at the top of the peak season. It may not have as much of an impact on earnings as you anticipate.”
Oil stocks rose after the French air strikes in Syria, with Royal Dutch Shell up 2.4 percent and BP up 1.9 percent.
So far this year the FTSE 100 index is down 6 percent.