FX.co ★ FTSE 100 Edges Higher In Cautious Trade

UK stocks made gains on Monday. This upwards trend was supported by data from Zoopla, a property platform, which revealed that UK house sales had increased for the seventh straight month in April. The uptick was primarily driven by heightened demand for smaller homes.

When it came to house prices, there was growth of 1.9 percent in February. This indicates a year-on-year increase of £5,318.

On the stock exchange, the FTSE 100, which is a benchmark index, rose 40 points or 0.5%. By the end of the day, the index stood at 8,180, which marks an additional gain of 0.8% following Friday's trading.

In specific company news, mining heavyweight Anglo American's shares increased by 1.3%. This was after its board unanimously rejected a takeover bid from BHP, an Australian firm. The board deemed the US$39 billion offer to significantly undervalue the company, calling it highly unattractive for shareholders.

Elsewhere, shares in Oxford Biomedica saw a notable rise of 6.4%. The organization, which focuses on cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing, reported stability in its core business and maintained its financial guidance for the near and medium term.

Lastly, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca also saw an increase in its share value of 1.3%. This occurred after the company announced progress in the development of two breast cancer treatments.