London shares opened on the up on Monday after Japanese stocks soared amid hopes of extra money-printing.
The FTSE 100 Index gained 93 points to 5801 as the Nikkei closed more than 1,000 points ahead despite weaker GDP figures.
Analysts said the data had boosted expectations that Tokyo would inject further stimulus into the economy.
Back in the UK, HSBC (LON:HSBA) said it had decided to keep its corporate headquarters in London, but hinted that a UK decision to leave the EU could spark a rethink. Shares rose 3.55p to 443.95p.
That was less than rivals such as Barclays (LON:BARC), which lifted 4p to 161.2p, while Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) increased 0.76p to 59.24p and RBS (LON:RBS) advanced 4.2p to 244.3p.
Consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser (LON:RB.) ticked up 289p, or 4.8%, to 6255p as it reported higher profits due to strong performances by products such as Nurofen headache tablets and Scholl foot products.
US crude oil has started the week trading below US$30 a barrel while Brent crude oscillated around US$33, already down 1% in early trade.
Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSB) fell 15p to 1511p. BP put on 1.15p to 333.65p as it outlined plans with partner Oman Oil to develop a second phase of the Khazzan natural gas field, taking investment in the project to US$16bn.
Elsewhere, Metal Tiger (LON:MTR) was 0.05p off at 0.9p as the gold explorer looked to extend its joint venture in Extremadura, Spain, by taking a stake in another prospect owned by partner MEN.
Oil explorer Sound Energy (LON:SOU) powered up 0.5p to 17.5p on news that it had started ground works at its Tendrara licence area in Morocco, with all contracts in place for its first well.
Secure payments service provider Eckoh (LON:ECK) has signed a new four-year, multi-million pound global procurement contract with a leading global financial services company. Shares progressed 1.5p to 42p.
MARKET PREVIEW
The FTSE 100 is set to open strongly, continuing Friday’s momentum.
The end-of-week rally saw the index of top stocks add 170 points, ending a rollercoaster week on a high.
Spread-betting firms are predicting a 73-point jump in the Footsie later this morning to 5,800.6.
The picture overnight was mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 continued to rally, jumping a whopping 7.5% to erase Friday’s losses. The ASX in Australia nudged 1.5% higher.
There was some relief in the region that China’s main equity markets, while lower, managed to stave off a wholesale collapse following a week long break for the lunar new year.
Some pretty awful trade data were accompanied by comments from the People’s Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan that hinted at support for the yuan.
That tended to calm investors’ nerves with a slide in the Shanghai Composite index not quite as bad as it could have been at 0.6%.
“A strong fix for the yuan has eased devaluation concerns leading to relatively small losses in China, a rebound across the rest of Asia and a higher open expected for Europe,” said Jasper Lawler, analyst at CMC Markets.
Back in the UK, there was set to be plenty of interest at the macro level this week, with inflation data on Tuesday, employment numbers the day after and retail sales figures on Friday.
Prime Minister David Cameron’s negotiations with the EU may also conclude this week, which will dictate the direction of the pound.
It is also a busy five days for scheduled corporate news. Bookie Ladbrokes, builders Barratt Developments and Persimmon and gas firm Centrica are all set to post updates.