Stocks in London jumped after Johnson’s exit from the leadership race

The FTSE 100 started the day up 0.5%, breaking above the 7,000 mark for the first time in a week.

And the pound continued its multi-day rally, rising from a low of below $1.11 around midday on Friday to nearly 1.14 when stock markets opened after the weekend.

Meanwhile, the market for gold-plated products cooled, which made them cheaper Govt borrow money. The yield on the UK’s gilt-edged 30-year bond fell almost 0.2 percentage point to around 3.9%.

Ruhi implements the former prime minister’s decision Boris Johnson to avoid seeking his party’s nomination to take the job again, even after a weekend of phone calls to drum up support.

Mr Johnson claimed he had the support of more than 100 MPs needed to advance to the next round, which would likely pit him against Rishi Sunak.

However, he said on Sunday that seeking the top job “would just not be right”, adding that the Conservative Party would be too divided if he took over.

It leaves former chancellor Rishi Sunak as the favorite in the race for Downing Street’s Number 10, and he could even win later on Monday without a member’s vote if no one manages to win the support of more than 100 MPs.

But international markets were also volatile on Monday. In Hong Kong, shares fell about 6% shortly before the start of trading in London.

Traders there responded to another leadership race, as the president of China Xi Jinping strengthened his power.

Mr Xi was elected to another five-year term to add to the 10 he has already spent in power. He also appointed his allies to most of the leadership positions in the Chinese Communist Party.

The drop in Hong Kong came despite China posting better-than-expected third-quarter GDP figures on Monday, which showed the country is slowly emerging from its Covid-19 lockdown.