UK's FTSE 100 Index Ticks Down; TotalEnergies' London Shares Surge

12:02 PM EST, 12/08/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The UK's FTSE 100 index welcomed the new week on a negative note, with the blue-chip index ending Monday session 0.23% lower. With corporate earnings updates slowing down, investors zero in on major economic updates to move markets such as the US Fed decision on Wednesday. At home, the focus this week is on the latest UK retail sales, house prices, and GDP data. "The coming week's UK data highlight will be the October GDP report (Friday), including the usual monthly sectoral and trade breakdown, which will be watched closely for the extent to which economic activity bounced back after the JLR-related slump in September," Daiwa said. "Overall, like the consensus, we expect a muted recovery in GDP at the start of Q4, with growth of 0.2%M/M at best, to leave output moving merely sideways on a three-month basis." On the corporate front, TotalEnergies (TTE.L) had a major day as it unveiled plans for the UK's largest independent oil and gas producer via the merger of its local upstream business with Neo Next. Elsewhere, the company also replaced its New York-listed American Depositary Receipts with ordinary shares. The London-listed shares of the French oil and gas giant were 4.75% higher. Meanwhile, Vodafone (VOD.L) ended the day 0.23% in the green as AlphaValue/Baader Europe updated its opinion on the telecommunications stock to add from reduce, with a higher price target and EPS estimates. "Vodafone's H1 results released in November were reassuring. Germany is on a clear improvement path, and emerging markets are experiencing robust growth. In the UK, Vodafone has finalised its merger with Three, creating significant opportunities for EBITDA savings," analysts wrote. "We have a 20% potential upside for the stock after a slight upward revision to our model."