UK's export-oriented FTSE 100 edged higher on Monday, with banks and life insurance companies among the top gainers, while investors looked ahead to a week lined up with key domestic economic data including inflation.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) and the mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) rose 0.2%, as of 0824 GMT, both looking to extend gains to a fourth straight session.
Banks (.FTNMX301010) and the FTSE 350 life insurance sector (.FTNMX301010) added 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively.
Among individual stocks, Marks & Spencer (MKS.L) rose 1.4% on a media report of plans to open 20 new stores creating 3,400 jobs throughout Britain.
Meanwhile, data by property website Rightmove (RMV.L) showed asking prices for homes rose for the first time in two months as the housing market calmed after the turmoil triggered by former prime minister Liz Truss's "mini-budget".
Britain's consumer inflation and retail sales will be among other data points that investors will be watching this week for clues on how the economy fared towards the end of the previous year.
