LONDON: UK’s top share index rose on Monday, aided by gains in financials and strength in resource-linked shares, while home improvement retailer Kingfisher rose after posting upbeat quarterly results.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 ended 1.7% higher and the domestically oriented FTSE 250 advanced 1.6%, after a volatile week that saw both the indexes mark losses.

Mining and oil & gas sectors rose 2.9% and 2.3% respectively, boosted by higher commodity prices, amid plans to end COVID-19 lockdowns in top metals consumer China and as the US dollar retreated.

Meanwhile, banks and insurers rose 2.5% and 2.3% respectively.

Adding to the upbeat mood, US President Joe Biden said he was weighing cutting tariffs on Chinese goods.

“It’s a bit of a relief rally. The dollar weakening is helping sectors such as resources and oil & gas,” Keith Temperton, sales trader at Forte Securities, said.

“We’ve got a fairly hectic economic diary towards the middle and the end of the week. It wouldn’t surprise me if this market faded off quickly.” While the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 has remained resilient over the year, the midcap index has shed close to 14% so far in 2022 on concerns that soaring inflation and tighter monetary policy will tip the economy into a recession.

Asking prices for houses in Britain surged again in May, pushed up by a lack of new homes coming to the market rather than strong demand, which looks set to fade as the cost-of-living crunch tightens, a survey showed.

Shares of Kingfisher climbed 2.2% after the company reported first-quarter sales significantly ahead of its pre-pandemic performance and maintained its full-year outlook.

Ted Baker fell 0.9% after the fashion chain said private-equity firm Sycamore was no longer part of its sale process, and that it had now received several revised takeover proposals from other parties.