London open: Covid-19 treatment hopes boost FTSE; BT surges
London stocks rallied in early trade on Monday, with sentiment boosted by fresh hopes of a coronavirus treatment.
At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 1.5% at 6,088.99.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "If last week was beset by the economic realities of the Covid-19 pandemic, then Monday is starting out with a (temporary) cure for those concerns -namely, the approval of blood plasma from recovered patients as a treatment against the virus.
"The FDA have granted ‘emergency use authorisation’ to this method, based on evidence it can reduce the mortality rate of covid-19 patients while aiding their recovery.
"Donald Trump was in danger of undermining sentiment as he once again labelled Covid-19 as the ‘China virus’ during the announcement. However, the markets were willing to look beyond the President’s geopolitical needling to focus on celebrating this moment of progress.
"As a side note, according to state media the Chinese government has been using a Sars-Cov-2 vaccine on key workers since July. Coincidentally or not, the country has also gone a week without any reported locally transmitted Covid cases."
In equity markets, BT surged to the top of the FTSE 100 following a report over the weekend that the company has asked bankers at Goldman Sachs to update its bid defence strategy.
According to Sky News, BT is preparing to defend itself against takeover approaches from industry rivals and buyout firms after the suspension of its dividend sent the shares tumbling to their lowest level in more than a decade. Sources told Sky that BT had not yet received a formal approach from any potential suitor.
Elsewhere, distribution and services group Bunzl gained after posting a rise in first-half profit, resuming its dividend payment and announcing the acquisition of a US-based safety business and a flexible packaging distributor in Ireland for an undisclosed sum.
Aerospace and defence engineer Meggitt was up after signing a multi-million pound contract with Japan’s MODEC - a specialist of floating production systems for the offshore oil and gas industry - for the supply of pioneering printed circuit heat exchanges.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,088.99 1.45%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,698.56 0.69%
techMARK (TASX) 3,828.55 1.53%
FTSE 100 - Risers
BT Group (BT.A) 109.95p 8.01%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,478.00p 3.04%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,597.50p 2.83%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 543.00p 2.53%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,458.00p 2.50%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 101.45p 2.50%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,483.00p 2.27%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,899.00p 2.22%
Experian (EXPN) 2,824.00p 2.17%
Halma (HLMA) 2,258.00p 2.13%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 189.40p -1.97%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,244.00p -0.84%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 780.00p -0.79%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 567.90p -0.51%
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 12,245.00p -0.12%
Pearson (PSON) 578.00p -0.03%
British Land Company (BLND) 360.90p 0.08%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,404.00p 0.25%
WPP (WPP) 604.00p 0.27%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 558.20p 0.36%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,540.00p 4.48%
Avon Rubber (AVON) 3,720.00p 3.62%
Capita (CPI) 31.33p 3.43%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 401.40p 3.40%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 52.68p 3.01%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 832.00p 2.97%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 1,492.00p 2.68%
IMI (IMI) 1,071.00p 2.49%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 90.45p 2.38%
Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,730.00p 2.37%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
CLS Holdings (CLI) 191.00p -3.54%
Equiniti Group (EQN) 110.20p -2.13%
Baillie Gifford Japan Trust (BGFD) 805.00p -1.35%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 57.30p -1.21%
BMO Commercial Property Trust Limited (BCPT) 66.40p -1.19%
Royal Mail (RMG) 186.95p -1.03%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 3,114.00p -0.70%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 306.30p -0.62%
International Public Partnerships Ltd. (INPP) 167.80p -0.59%
Hammerson (HMSO) 49.75p -0.50%