FTSE 100 LIVE: London ends the day in positive territory as US lacks direction

The FTSE 100 ended the session in the green, advancing 36 points to 10,497.94.

There may be a distinct lack of direction in the US in early trading, but after a terrible start to the first quarter last week, London traders were in a chipper mood.

The FTSE 100, off its session high, was up 41 points in mid-afternoon trading, though news flow and traded volumes were scant.

Over in New York, the Dow fell 0.2% to about 51,065, while the S&P 500 rose 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4%.

The bond markets continue to be a preoccupation for equities traders.

For those tracking gold, not much has changed in terms of the direction of travel for prices.

“The near-term remains somewhat bearish, while the longer-term bullish story is still quite strong,” reckons StoneX, the trading and forex group.

“This leaves gold in a bit of limbo in the near-term.”

An ounce of the precious metal will cost $4,1401, up 1.2% on the day.

The FTSE 100 is up 61 points in early afternoon trading, resisting the pull of Wall Street.

US futures are a touch softer: Nasdaq-100 contracts are down 0.1%, while Dow and S&P 500 futures are little changed.

Still lurking in the shadow is the bond market, with investors weighing higher bond yields, eurozone worries and the approach of earnings season.

The week's corporate headlines Stateside will be set by Levi Strauss, Applied Digital, PepsiCo and Delta ahead of the main season in mid-October.

Bitcoin is holding its gains. Analysts say the rally has legs.

Declines have been contained over the past six weeks, while the advances have stayed strong. The $60,000 level now looks like the low of the 2025-26 selloff.

It took revived inflows and a good story to get things moving. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent supplied that story when he took on bond yields. Buyers have mostly been in control since.

Hopes of an October Fed hike have faded, which adds fuel. Friday's payrolls eased fears the US central bank would have to act in October, lifting risk appetite. Oil is slipping as shipments recover. Further falls would ease inflation worries.

Easing interest rate fears, driven by weaker-than-expected US jobs on Friday, provided a halo effect for global stock markets that lasted over the weekend.

Oil held above $100 a barrel, though signs of better supply have kept crude in check.

Metlen Energy & Metals, the Greece-based group, rose after signing a long-term gallium supply deal; the metal is used in defence and technology.

AJ Bell's Russ Mould said BT sees short-term pain from buying debt-laden TalkTalk as justified by long-term gain, though rivals and creditors could still challenge the deal.

Ithaca Energy, newly promoted to the FTSE 100, announced its first assets outside the North Sea, in Canada, which Mould said offers diversification but risks indigestion after a run of big purchases.

Citi, the US bank, says taking over TalkTalk would have a limited impact on BT Group's financials, and it is surprised that BT's shares have risen on the prospect.

The broker, which rates BT at 'sell' with a target price of 165p, wrote before the deal was confirmed.

It calculates that buying the broadband provider could lift BT's revenue and EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) by 1% to 2%.

The deal would initially dilute normalised free cash flow, the cash left after investment, though Citi sees scope for it to turn mildly accretive over the longer term as synergies come through.

The FTSE 100, after briefly nudging into the green, fell back to parity on a slow day for corporate news flow. Thankfully, the bond market seems to have calmed down.

The day's big headline was the takeover of TalkTalk by BT Group in a £400 million deal.

National Grid's trading update reassured, while Ithaca Energy, which topped the top division, has swooped to acquire oil assets in Canada.

The FTSE 100 is poised to open 54 points higher, with London catching the tailwind from a buoyant start to the week across Asia.

The good cheer traces back to Friday's US jobs report, which came in softer than hoped. Fewer workers, cooler wage growth, and suddenly the odds of an October rate hike from the Federal Reserve have slipped below one in four.

Bond markets took the hint as the 10-year Treasury yield eased to 5.25%; some relief after weeks of relentless selling.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 2.6% as tech led the charge, though China and South Korea sat it out for public holidays. Wall Street, fresh off a record close for the Nasdaq 100, looks set to add more.

Oil is the fly in the ointment, with Brent slipping back towards $101 as traders weigh fresh conflict in Yemen.