Mony Group rose 4.6 per cent, or 8.8p, to 198.7p after it said it will pay a dividend of 12.5p a share for 2024 – up 3 per cent on the previous year – and return £30million to shareholders through a buyback.
With defence stocks on the rise across Europe, the FTSE 100 added 0.4 per cent, or 35.55 points, to 8768.01 and the FTSE 250 inched up 0.1 per cent, or 25.67 points, to 20938.68 while the Dax hit a record high in Frankfurt ahead of German elections this weekend.
Britain’s banks remain in focus following upbeat results last week from Barclays (up 3.3 per cent, or 9.8p, to 304.4p) and Natwest (up 2.6 per cent, or 10.9p, to 439p).
Close Brothers fell 8.1 per cent, or 28p, to 320p and Lloyds slipped 1.9 per cent, or 1.24p, to 62.92p.
The shares have fallen around 90 per cent since July last year.
