FTSE 100 up ahead of U.S.-China trade deal; midcaps outshine

London's main index gained on Monday, in step with other global peers, as investors took heart from the imminent signing of a Phase 1 U.S.-China trade deal, while a jump in shares of utility Pennon Group helped the midcaps outperform.

The FTSE 100 added 0.3%, with trade hopes complemented by de-escalating Middle East tensions. Housebuilders rose, with Taylor Wimpey up 3.3%, after an upbeat forecast from real estate services provider Savills . The FTSE 250 outshone with a 0.8% rise, boosted by a 9% surge in Pennon after a report https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-11/kkr-bids-5-2-billion-for-u-k-waste-company-viridor-telegraph that private equity firm KKR had bid for the UK utility's waste management unit in early 2019.

Lending further support to the more domestically-exposed bourse was Spirent Communications which jumped almost 9% after guiding to better-than-expected annual profit.

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