London open: Travel & leisure stocks pace the advance
London equity markets rose in early trade on Friday, with travel stocks pacing the gains following heavy losses earlier in the week.
At 0900 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 7,052.75.
Sales, marketing and support services group DCC was the standout gainer on the FTSE 100 after saying it traded "very well" in the first quarter, with operating profit growth well ahead of the prior year and modestly ahead of expectations.
Premier Inn owner Whitbread also rallied after Peel Hunt upgraded the shares to ‘buy’ from ‘add’, saying they have been oversold on reopening fears.
Travel and leisure stocks were on the up, recovering from Covid-related losses earlier in the week. British Airways parent IAG, InterContinental Hotels, engine maker Rolls-Royce, Cineworld, Tui, Wetherspoons and Wizz Air all advanced.
Home repairs and improvements business HomeServe rose after it backed its full-year guidance ahead of its annual meeting.
On the downside, luxury goods maker Burberry slumped even after it reported a sharp rise in first-quarter sales and maintained full-year guidance as younger customers were attracted to the brand.
Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that Gobbetti’s exit is still causing concern.
"A big obstacle waiting to trip up the company on this catwalk of recovery is the departure of CEO Marco Gobbetti. He has been seen as the turnaround Czar for Burberry and investors are questioning the company’s ability to keep driving through the strategic turnaround without him in the front row," she said.
"Finding the right replacement to fit his large shoes won’t be an easy task. Shares were down 2% with investors still uncertain about the direction of the company in the age after Gobbetti.’"
Rio Tinto was in the red after it posted a 12% fall in quarterly iron ore shipments as storms and labour shortages hit its Pilbara operations in Western Australia. Miners more generally were on the back foot, with Antofagasta, Anglo American and Glencore also down.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,052.75 0.58%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,591.70 0.40%
techMARK (TASX) 4,379.66 0.36%
FTSE 100 - Risers
DCC (CDI) (DCC) 6,084.00p 3.29%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,775.00p 3.22%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,966.00p 3.20%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 169.32p 2.39%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 93.25p 2.32%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,475.00p 2.22%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 151.75p 1.88%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,840.50p 1.70%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,623.50p 1.60%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,981.00p 1.53%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,025.00p -2.17%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 5,712.00p -2.14%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,061.00p -1.32%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,375.00p -0.97%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,842.00p -0.83%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,950.50p -0.76%
Royal Mail (RMG) 549.80p -0.72%
Glencore (GLEN) 317.95p -0.66%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,292.00p -0.65%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,821.50p -0.46%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Cineworld Group (CINE) 61.72p 7.68%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 321.50p 3.08%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 1,089.00p 2.54%
Homeserve (HSV) 958.50p 2.40%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 4,472.00p 1.80%
AJ Bell (AJB) 416.60p 1.66%
Pennon Group (PNN) 1,232.00p 1.57%
Elementis (ELM) 157.10p 1.55%
Unite Group (UTG) 1,124.50p 1.49%
Ninety One (N91) 233.00p 1.48%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 367.80p -2.49%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 5,712.00p -2.14%
Auction Technology Group (ATG) 1,194.00p -2.13%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 323.50p -1.97%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 161.80p -1.46%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 443.60p -1.38%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 142.50p -0.97%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 157.60p -0.88%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 913.00p -0.87%
Diploma (DPLM) 2,990.00p -0.66%