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The U.K. market is up in positive territory a little before noon on Monday with select counters attracting some strong buying interest. Uncertainty on the tariff front is rendering the mood a bit cautious and limiting the market’s upside.<\/p>\n
The benchmark FTSE 100 is up 16.43 points or 0.18% at 9,112.16 a few minutes before noon. <\/p>\n
Marks & Spencer is gaining 2.5%. WPP, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Pershing Square Holdings, Fresnillo, IMI, AstraZeneca, Airtel Africa, Diageo, British American Tobacco, Tesco and Glencore are up 1.1 to 1.7%.<\/p>\n
Drug maker GSK is notably higher after the U.S. FDA has accepted its application for priority review of gepotidacin, an oral antibiotic to treat sexually transmitted uncomplicated gonorrhoea.<\/p>\n
Rolls-Royce is down nearly 1%. The company sold its UK pension pot in a \u00a34.3 billion buyout with Pension Insurance Corporation, the largest UK risk-transfer deal this year, covering 36,000 people and removing liabilities from its balance sheet. CFO Helen McCabe called it a “win-win” and part of efforts to simplify the business<\/span>.<\/p>\n SSE is down more than 2.5%. BAE Systems is declining by 1.7%, while Croda International, Endeavour Mining, Babcock International and Melrose Industries are down 1.2% to 1.4%. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Market Analysis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n