Shell’s A shares are up 49.5p to 1963.5p while its B shares are 51.5p better at 2048.5p, while BP has climbed 7.3p to 457.3p. Brent crude is up 1% at $50.69 in the wake of last week’s moves by oil producers to curb output.

Sterling fell back after UK prime minister Theresa May set out the timetable for Brexit, although it has regained some ground after much stronger than expected manufacturing PMIs for September. The weaker pound helps exporters – which dominate the FTSE 100 – and commodity companies.

So pharmaceutical group Hikma is 50p higher at £20.68 while Anglo American has added 19.6p to 987.2p.

Overall the FTSE 100 has hit a 16 month high, adding 65.58 points to 6964.92. Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said:

“Over the weekend we all got a little more clarity on what Brexit actually means, although Theresa May continues to say relatively little in order to keep her options open, a course of action used to good effect in recent months by Fed chair Janet Yellen. A slump in sterling made life easier for UK markets, with price action so far this morning seeing high-quality international firms receiving a flood of buyers.

Another rise in the UK’s manufacturing PMI helped sterling to recover some of its losses, and while the move this morning has garnered plenty of attention it is a pale imitation of the action seen in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote.

The bullish activity in markets this morning has been helped in no small measure by the closure of German markets for a holiday, which has had the beneficial effect of sparing us any Deutsche Bank headlines. The rumoured DoJ deal failed to materialise over the weekend, which might mean that the shares are due another trimming when the Dax reopens tomorrow.’

Other risers include Babcock International, up 17p to £10.52 after JP Morgan raised their target price from £14.27 to £14.40.

But defensive stocks such as utilities were down as investors moved back into riskier assets. Severn Trent has slipped 21p to £24.84 while British Gas-owner Centrica is down 1.4p to 226.8p as RBC analysts moved from 0utperform to sector perform, and cut their target price from 250p to 240p.

BT is down 4.5p at 384.55 following a report the telecoms company is struggling to agree a deal with regulator Ofcom about the future structure of its Openreach business.

Among the mid-caps fund management firms were on the rise as US asset manager Janus Capital agreed on a $6bn merger with Henderson Group, up 12% to 260p. The news has sent Aberdeen Asset Management 14.2p higher to 340.5p and Jupiter Fund Management up 18.6p at 444p.