London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,067.90 in afternoon trade on Monday.
Rolls-Royce surged to the top of the index after it secured agreement to sell its ITP Aero division for around €1.7bn (£1.5bn) to Bain Capital Private Equity, which is leading a consortium of Spanish and Basque companies.
The agreement is a key element of Rolls-Royce’s disposal programme to raise £2bn to bolster its balance sheet and support the engine maker’s medium-term ambition to return to investment grade credit profile after the Covid pandemic hammered the airline industry.
Also on Monday, Rolls-Royce announced it had won a £1.9bn deal to supply parts for the US Air Force’s (USAF) fleet of B-52 bombers for the next 30 years.
Elsewhere, oil giants Royal Dutch Shell and BP both gushed higher as oil prices neared a three-year high amid global production disruptions.
FTSE 100 – Risers
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 146.12p 10.28%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 183.98p 4.77%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,537.00p 3.64%
Royal Dutch Shell ‘B’ (RDSB) 1,583.00p 3.57%
Royal Dutch Shell ‘A’ (RDSA) 1,583.40p 3.54%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 714.80p 3.29%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,938.50p 3.00%
BP (BP.) 329.40p 2.87%
British Land Company (BLND) 515.60p 2.87%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 385.90p 2.78%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Halma (HLMA) 2,922.00p -4.07%
Croda International (CRDA) 8,486.00p -4.00%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 15,385.00p -3.84%
Experian (EXPN) 3,155.00p -3.84%
Rightmove (RMV) 695.00p -3.31%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,680.00p -3.17%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 592.20p -3.11%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,901.00p -3.08%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,616.00p -2.68%
SEGRO (SGRO) 1,225.50p -2.58%
