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FTSE 100 up 0.2%, FTSE 250 up 0.6%

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Marks & Spencer ( MAKSF ) rises after Citi upgrades to 'buy'

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Phoenix's lower book value drags shares

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PRS REIT shares climb as KKR joins sale process

Sept 8 (Reuters) - UK shares nudged higher on Monday,

led by heavyweight energy and bank stocks, while losses in

consumer staples and healthcare kept gains in check.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.2% by 1005 GMT,

while the domestically focussed mid-cap index added

0.6%.

Boosting the FTSE 100, energy stocks rose

1.3% after crude oil prices gained 1.9%. The prospect of

additional sanctions on Russian crude after an overnight strike

in Ukraine outweighed OPEC+'s planned output hike.

Oil majors Shell and BP rose about 1.3%

each.

Bank stocks advanced 0.7%, bouncing back

following Friday's slide, with top lenders Standard Chartered ( SCBFF )

, NatWest ( NWG ) and Barclays ( BCS ) among the top

performers on the benchmark index.

Precious metal miners advanced tracking

higher gold prices. Fresnillo rose 1.9%.

Personal goods rose 2.4% with Burberry ( BBRYF )

up 2.7%.

On the flip side, healthcare stocks declined

0.6%. Heavyweight AstraZeneca ( AZN ) edged lower 0.6%.

Life insurers index fell 0.7%, weighed down

by Phoenix Group ( PNXGF ) that fell 6.2%, to the bottom of the

FTSE 100.

The insurer said it would rebrand as Standard Life in March

2026, and reported a larger-than-expected decline in book value

driven by market fluctuations.

Beverages lost 1.4%, with spirits maker

Diageo ( DEO ) down 2.2%.

Some consumer staples stocks declined. Unilever ( UL )

fell 1.2%, among the worst performers on the benchmark index.

In other moves, Marks & Spencer ( MAKSF ) rose 2.7%, to top

the FTSE 100, after Citi upgraded the retailer to "buy" from

"neutral".

PRS REIT rose 8.4%, to top the mid-cap index, after

the real estate investment trust said U.S. private equity firm

KKR has joined its formal sale process, but has not made

an offer for the company.

Homebuilder Vistry gained 3.2% after signing a

joint venture partnership with UK's housing and regeneration

agency Homes England to develop community homes.

Meanwhile, surveys showed British employers offered the

lowest pay settlements in more than three-and-a-half years in

July and hiring continued to slow.

The figures highlight businesses' fears of another round of

tax rises in finance minister Rachel Reeves' November 26 budget.

(Reporting by Sukriti Gupta; Editing by Shreya Biswas

)