LONDON MARKETS: U.K. Stocks Advance As Insurers, AstraZeneca Rise

Brexit bill vote set for Monday

U.K. stocks rose Monday, with insurers among advancers as the impact of Hurricane Irma appeared not as widespread as anticipated.

The FTSE 100 rose 0.4% to 7,408.71. The index on Friday fell 0.3% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-falls-headed-for-weekly-loss-as-miners-pull-back-2017-09-08) as investors headed into a potentially eventful weekend including Hurricane Irma's move toward Florida and a possible missile test in North Korea.

But investors came into Monday's trading session with no missile test from North Korea. Meanwhile, Irma made landfall on Sunday as a Category 3 hurricane on the west coast of Florida. Miami and other areas on the east coast of the state avoided a direct hit.

Insurance stocks in the U.K. and across Europe pushed higher Monday. Prudential PLC (PRU.LN) rose 1.8% and on the mid-cap FTSE 250 , shares of Beazley PLC (BEZ.LN) jumped 5.8% and Hiscox Ltd. (HSX.LN) leapt 4%.

Hurricane Irma has weakened to a Category 1 storm (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/worst-case-scenario-as-hurricane-irma-makes-landfall-in-florida-2017-09-10) and was moving toward Tampa, Fla.

"Investors are feeling somewhat relieved today after the most dire predictions in terms of a disaster caused by Hurricane Irma have evaporated. The damage caused by Hurricane Irma is still colossal as streets have been changed into rivers and nearly 3 million people are without any power," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at ThinkMarkets UK, in a note. "However, thankfully, the overall impact of Irma is falling short of prediction."

In other moves Monday, shares of AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.LN) rose 1.8% after the company said it's had positive results from two trials for lung cancer treatments (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/astrazeneca-positive-results-in-2-cancer-trials-2017-09-11).

Associated British Foods PLC (ABF.LN) raised its outlook for underlying growth in fiscal 2017, stemming from a stronger profit performance from its fast-fashion chain Primark. But shares of the company, which also makes ingredients, fell 1.2%.

The pound bought $1.3187, not far off from $1.3197 late Friday in New York.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 11, 2017 04:15 ET (08:15 GMT)