FTSE 100 set to end month higher on energy shares boost

London's FTSE 100 rose on Monday led by strong gains in energy stocks, with oil prices on track for their best month in almost a year, while Vodafone topped the index on plans to design its own chip architecture.

London's FTSE 100 rose on Monday led by strong gains in energy stocks, with oil prices on track for their best month in almost a year, while Vodafone topped the index on plans to design its own chip architecture. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index gained 0.3% with Shell , BP and Vodafone the top boosts.

Vodafone was the top FTSE 100 gainer, up 3.3%, after saying it would work with Intel Corp and other silicon vendors on designing its own chip architecture to drive innovation and efficiency in nascent OpenRAN network technology. The domestically focussed mid-cap index rose 1% with travel and leisure stocks gaining the most.

Investors now await a key monetary policy decision from the Bank of England due later this week where expectations are for a 50-basis-point rate hike, its second hike in a row, as it looks to tame rising inflation pressure. Among stocks, British recruiting firm SThree jumped 8.6% after its annual profit nearly doubled.

Education group Pearson rose 1.6% after it agreed to buy certification company Credly to expand its offering to businesses looking to train and retain workers.