Stock prices on the London Stock Exchange were on the rise at midday on Monday, with the FTSE 100 inching closer to record levels. The optimism was fueled by hopes that the ongoing US government shutdown, the longest in history, may soon come to an end.

The FTSE 100 index climbed 97. 76 points, or 1. 0%, to 9,780. 33, while the FTSE 250 was up 248. 47 points, or 1. 1%, at 22,021. 47. The AIM All-Share also saw gains, rising 9. 88 points, or 1. 3%, to 759. 35.

In Paris, the CAC 40 rose 1. 3%, while Frankfurt’s DAX 40 added 1. 7%.

On Sunday, the US Senate took a significant step towards ending the government shutdown when it approved a procedural vote by 60 votes to 40. This puts a time limit on the debate surrounding the legislative measure, with a maximum of 30 hours for discussion before voting on the motion. The motion, which only requires 50 votes to pass, must still go through the Republican-controlled House of Representatives before reaching President Donald Trump’s desk. This process is expected to take several days.

In New York, Wall Street was also predicted to open higher, with futures indicating gains for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury widened to 4. 13% from 4. 07%, while the US 30-year Treasury also saw a slight increase, rising to 4. 73% from 4. 68%.

Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Rostro, commented on the pressure to reach a resolution in the US shutdown talks, saying, “The pressure had ratcheted up off the back of aviation disruption that saw over 3,000 flights cancelled on Sunday alone. This was a clear sign that the leaders in Washington cannot simply let this impasse last forever.

Airline stocks rallied on the hopes of a resolution, with British Airways and Iberia owner IAG seeing a 3. 2% increase after experiencing double-digit losses on Friday. Air France-KLM jumped 4. 4%, while Lufthansa gained 3. 1%.

At the Airlines 2025 conference in Westminster, the head of IAG subsidiary British Airways, Sean Doyle, expressed his support for expanding Heathrow Airport without moving the M25 motorway, if possible. He stated, “If you can avoid moving the M25, you should avoid moving the M25. I can’t argue against the logic of that. I think we should look at ways of potentially building a shorter runway.

Currently, there are two proposals being considered for expanding Heathrow Airport.