Buoyant global mood lifts UK stocks, GSK spin-off Haleon begins trading

UK's main stock indexes gained on Monday, as an upbeat global mood lifted economically sensitive sectors including commodities and banks, while shares of Haleon, spun off from drugmaker GSK, debuted on the London Stock Exchange. Haleon started trading at 330 pence, giving it a market valuation of around 31 billion pounds ($37.00 billion) in the biggest London listing in a decade.

UK's main stock indexes gained on Monday, as an upbeat global mood lifted economically sensitive sectors including commodities and banks, while shares of Haleon, spun off from drugmaker GSK, debuted on the London Stock Exchange. The blue-chip FTSE 100 gained 1.1% by 0713 GMT, and the domestically focussed midcap index climbed 0.7%.

Overall, the global mood was buoyant after a Wall Street rally on Friday, when better-than-expected earnings and easing worries of a big 100-basis-point rate hike by the Federal Reserve this month boosted sentiment. Haleon started trading at 330 pence, giving it a market valuation of around 31 billion pounds ($37.00 billion) in the biggest London listing in a decade. Shares of GSK rose 3.5%.

Euromoney surged 9.5%, after a group led by French investment firm Astorg Asset Management said it would offer to buy the British business-to-business information company in a deal valued at 1.66 billion pounds ($1.97 billion). Food delivery company Deliveroo shares slipped 1.9%, after it slashed its full-year revenue guidance, blaming a worsening economic outlook as pressures on consumers mount.

Direct Line tumbled 12.2%, after the car insurer revised downwards its profitability outlook for the year, blaming a period of "heightened volatility" in the market. ($1 = 0.8377 pounds)