London open: Stocks bounce back after Monday's losses

At 0910 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.9% at 7,262.57, having fallen 1% on Monday amid worries about the spread of Omicron and the potential for further restrictions.

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: "The FTSE 100 has broken back above resistance at 7,200, with the next major hurdle to break at 7,300 on the upside.

"After settling 3.7% to the downside on Monday, WTI is recouping some of those losses, trading higher but is still languishing below critical resistance at $70 a barrel.

"Thin volumes look set to exacerbate any moves in the shortened holiday week of trade with markets digesting the threat of Omicron and the shifting stance among global monetary policymakers."

On the macro front, data released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed public borrowing fell in November as spending on the pandemic eased and the furlough scheme came to an end, but was still the second-highest figure for the month since records began in 1993.

Public sector net borrowing fell by £4.9bn from November last year to £17.4bn. However, this was higher than the £16bn expected by analysts and above the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast of £14.2bn.

The decline on the year was largely down to the fact that most of the country was in lockdown last year.

Meanwhile, the debt pile reached £2.32trn, which is equivalent to 96.1% of GDP and the worst ratio since March 1963.

Capital Economics said: "The rise in government borrowing in November suggests the public finances could be already starting to feel the strain from higher spending on NHS Test & Trace and booster vaccines.

"Now that tighter Covid-19 restrictions are in prospect, we don’t expect a big improvement in the public finances any time soon."

In equity markets, housebuilders were on the rise, with Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon and Barratt all higher.

Miners also gained as metals prices advanced, with Rio, Anglo American and BHP in the black.

Asset manager Schroders rose after it agreed to buy a 75% stake in specialist investment manager Greencoat Capital Holdings for an initial £358.0m.

JD Sports rallied after Nike’s second-quarter earnings and sales beat expectations overnight.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,262.57 0.90%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,728.89 0.79%
techMARK (TASX) 4,455.23 0.60%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,907.00p 3.10%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 205.00p 2.91%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,765.00p 2.64%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 168.20p 2.56%
BHP Group (BHP) 2,199.00p 2.47%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 3,813.00p 2.42%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,324.50p 2.36%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 719.20p 2.30%
Schroders (SDR) 3,450.00p 2.22%
Glencore (GLEN) 368.80p 2.20%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 5,060.00p -0.59%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,960.50p -0.53%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,181.00p -0.37%
Avast (AVST) 613.60p -0.20%
Croda International (CRDA) 9,990.00p -0.10%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,534.00p -0.04%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 719.80p -0.03%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,682.00p 0.00%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,864.00p 0.03%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 442.20p 0.09%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Reach (RCH) 268.00p 4.89%
Vistry Group (VTY) 1,140.50p 2.79%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 1,262.00p 2.39%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 167.70p 2.26%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 302.60p 2.23%
Countryside Properties (CSP) 436.20p 2.15%
Darktrace (DARK) 409.20p 2.15%
IP Group (IPO) 120.40p 2.03%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 351.40p 2.03%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 189.35p 1.99%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 3,810.00p -1.30%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,558.00p -1.02%
GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd (GCP) 107.80p -0.92%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 223.00p -0.89%
SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 116.00p -0.85%
Rank Group (RNK) 140.40p -0.57%
Murray International Trust (MYI) 1,138.00p -0.52%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 291.50p -0.51%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 293.20p -0.48%
Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 224.00p -0.44%