London stocks opened higher on Monday, with mining gains lifting the FTSE 100, as investors looked ahead to the UK government's budget on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 index opened up 48.28 points, 0.5%, at 10,738.64, after closing down 1.0% at 10,673.94 on Friday.

Computacenter was the standout performer, jumping 6.1% after raising its full-year profit outlook following stronger-than-expected third-quarter trading. The technology and services provider now expects adjusted pretax profit of at least £425 million for 2026, ahead of company-compiled analyst consensus of £387.1 million. The company said strong demand from hyperscale and neocloud customers in North America and the UK had supported the quarter.

Mining stocks also advanced, with Antofagasta rising 2.9% and Fresnillo gaining 2.5%. At the other end of the blue-chip index, Experian fell 1.6%. In the FTSE 250, Molten Ventures climbed 5.3% after reporting an increase in net asset value per share, supported by strong portfolio performance.

Iran talks and the budget in focus

Investors were assessing signs of progress in US-Iran peace talks, after President Donald Trump said on Sunday that further strikes on Iran were highly unlikely if negotiations moved in the right direction. IG said futures had indicated the FTSE 100 would open 4.3 points higher, at 10,678.24. Brent crude was down 1.1% at $97.23 a barrel at 0720 GMT.

In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.7%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt gained 0.6%. The pound was quoted at $1.3347 early Monday, lower than $1.3376 at the London equities close on Friday.

Attention now turns to Wednesday's budget, with Chancellor John Healey reported to be preparing £20.4 billion in additional funding for the National Wealth Fund and British Business Bank. In Monday's corporate calendar, Beximco Pharmaceuticals reports full-year results, while Kainos Group publishes half-year results.