Stocks rally before Budget and interest rate calls

Stocks in London started the week on the front foot, ending Monday in the green, as investors looked ahead to the autumn Budget and a busy week of central bank interest rate calls.

In London, the FTSE 100 index ended up 76.97 points, 0.7 per cent, at 10,767.33. The FTSE 250 ended 263.86 points higher, 1.1 per cent, at 24,501.25, and the AIM all-share advanced 6.51 points, 0.9 per cent, at 753.18.

In London, investors are looking ahead to Wednesday’s autumn Budget at which chancellor John Healey is expected to announce an investment boost, and modest tax rises, as he seeks to placate the City, and keep backbench MPs on side.

“Wednesday’s Budget will be the main event for UK investors, with the reaction in bond and currency markets likely to matter more than the individual measures announced,” said Tom Stevenson, investment director at Fidelity International.

“With long bond yields in the UK approaching 6%, the most important job for the chancellor, John…