British stocks edged higher on Monday as diplomatic developments over Ukraine, the funeral of Iran's late supreme leader, and a fresh OPEC+ output increase were weighed alongside a busy UK economic calendar. The FTSE 100 was up 0.26%, while Germany's DAX was down 0.02% and France's CAC 40 rose 0.30%. Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by phone for nearly 90 minutes on Sunday, with Trump reaffirming his readiness to facilitate the earliest possible cessation of hostilities in Ukraine. Iran began a 12-hour funeral procession in Tehran for slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with his successor Mojtaba Khamenei not appearing in public since the February 28 airstrike. Seven OPEC+ countries agreed to raise combined production by 188,000 barrels per day from August, the fifth straight monthly increase, while Brent crude for September delivery was down 0.42% at $71.82 a barrel. In UK corporate news, EasyJet agreed to a £5.5 billion takeover by U.S. investment firm Castlelake at £6.90 per share, and ITV agreed to sell its media and entertainment division to Sky for £1.6 billion.
EasyJet PLCagreed to a £5.5 billion takeover at £6.90 per share
ITV PLCagreed to sell media and entertainment division to Sky for £1.6 billion