FTSE 100 rises as Rolls-Royce, ITV and mining companies edge higher - here are today's risers and fallers on the UK stock index

The Financial Times Stock Exchange, also known as FTSE 100 index, has risen today despite fears over a worse-than-expected jobs outlook for the US published on Friday 3 September

FTSE 100 rises as Rolls Royce, ITV and mining companies edge higher - here are today's risers and fallers on the UK stock index (Image credit: Getty Images)

After the top UK stock exchange dipped to close at 7,138.35 on Friday afternoon, it soared this morning (6 September) to trade higher – jumping to 7,171.42 at 8.30am on Monday.

It has held its gains throughout the course of Monday morning trading, with the index trading at 7185.40 points shortly before 1pm.

Here’s why the UK index is up and which companies constitute the biggest risers and fallers on the Footsie today.

Why is the FTSE 100 up today?

The Footsie index of the top 100 blue chip companies listed on the London Stock Exchange showed an upwards trend in share prices on Monday as the UK market continued to defy fears over the spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant and its impact on economic recovery.

Markets worldwide continue to be hampered by the fast-spreading Covid variant and its strains on staff numbers and global supply chains.

US markets slid in response to a worse-than-expected US jobs outlook released on Friday.

While the US unemployment rate fell to 5.2% in accordance with market expectations, jobs predictions fell far short according to data released by the US Bureau of Labour Statistics.

Just 235,000 jobs were added to the US in August, in contrast to some 930,000 in the previous month and expectations for August of over 700,000 new jobs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dipped to 35,308.51 on Friday, with a five day decline of -0.29%.

The FTSE 100 rise comes as aluminium prices surged to a 10-year high as political unrest and volatility in Guinea, a country rich in aluminium’s raw material bauxite, saw mining multinationals rise on the UK index.

Evraz Plc’s (EVR) share price rose on Monday by 1.69%, while commodity and mining company Glencore Plc (GLEN) was trading up by 1.91% this afternoon.

What are the FTSE’s biggest risers and fallers today?

Beside mining multinationals like Evraz and Glencore, companies like ITV, JD Sports and the Burberry Group all revealed themselves as the biggest risers on the UK stock index as of Monday afternoon.

At a share price of 10p per ordinary share, ITV Plc was trading up by roughly 2.5% as of 1.30pm on Monday at 117 GBX.

JD Sports Fashion Plc made gains on Monday despite the blow of the Competition and Market Authority’s preliminary decision to block the sports retail giant’s acquisition of FootAsylum following an appeal over the original decision in May 2020.

As of 2pm, JD was one of the leading FTSE 100 risers with a 2.32% climb.

Landmark automobile company Rolls-Royce was likewise up on the FTSE today with a share price of 112.74 – up 1.04 points and 0.93% on Monday afternoon.

Among the top fallers on the major UK index today are the British Land Company, down 0.89%, hospitality company Whitbread Plc at -0.87% and international mining companies Fresnillo and Rio Tinto – down at 1.16% and 0.98% respectively.

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