LONDON: The UK’s FTSE 100 edged higher on Monday supported by gains in energy stocks, while a jump in software firm Ocado Group offset losses in travel stocks as airlines lost ground after Ryanair flagged travel demand concerns.

The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 was up 0.2%, while the more domestically-focused FTSE 250 midcap index shed 0.3%.

Ocado Group jumped 14.3% after the online supermarket group and Norwegian robotics firm AutoStore reached a deal to settle patent litigation claims.

The travel and leisure sector lost 0.8% after Ryanair flagged caution around travel demand for the rest of the year as the industry bellwether cut its passenger growth forecast.

The airline was down 6.1% while peers Easyjet and Wizz Air Holdings were down 4.4% and 6.4%, respectively.

Heavyweight energy stocks gained 1.3% tracking higher crude prices, while industrial metal miners rose 0.8% on an anticipated stimulus from China.

Meanwhile, a survey showed Britain’s private sector is growing at its weakest pace in six months in July as orders for businesses stagnate in the face of rising interest rates and still-high inflation.