London open: Stocks rally amid lockdown easing hopes
London stocks rose in early trade on Monday, taking their cue from a positive session in Asia as investors welcomed news that several countries were set to ease their lockdowns.
At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 1.4% at 5,831.53, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson back at Downing Street amid calls for an exit strategy to be outlined.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "With countries across the world - notably France, Italy, Spain, Australia and New Zealand - aiming to ease some of their lockdown measures this week or next as they try to find the ‘new normal’, the markets rebounded hard on Monday.
"Though we have no idea when the terms of lockdown will be altered, let alone ended, in the UK, the examples set by its global, and especially European, peers still sent the FTSE sharply higher.
"What happens in those countries easing restrictions should be illustrative for the UK government, and could help dictate what the returning Boris Johnson and his cabinet choose to do next. This is especially true of Italy - the first European country to go into lockdown conditions seven weeks ago, it is sure to be the most scrutinised nation when it comes to assessing what measures can be lifted, and when."
Sentiment was also lifted after the Bank of Japan extended its monetary stimulus and pledged to buy an unlimited amount of bonds.
In equity markets, industrial equipment rental company Ashtead racked up solid gains was after saying it would have free cash flow under all downside scenarios during the Covid-19 crisis despite the virus having an impact on its business.
InterContinental Hotels rose after saying it has secured new financing arrangements taking its total available liquidity to $2bn.The company added that it expected first quarter global RevPAR fell by 55% in March, for a first quarter fall of 25% - in line with a forecast given last month.
Insurance group Admiral as it said it will suspend a special dividend of 20.7p a share but stick with its final payout, citing a strong solvency position.
Housebuilder Redrow rallied as it announced plans for a phased return to construction on 18 May.
On the downside, Aston Martin was knocked lower by a downgrade to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs, while Close Brothers was lower after a downgrade to ‘underperform’ at Jefferies.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 5,831.53 1.38%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 15,919.18 1.48%
techMARK (TASX) 3,511.05 1.01%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Ferguson (FERG) 5,680.00p 5.58%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,920.00p 4.92%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 227.20p 4.36%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 3,502.00p 4.16%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 193.45p 4.15%
M&G (MNG) 130.00p 4.00%
Carnival (CCL) 882.00p 3.86%
British Land Company (BLND) 395.60p 3.86%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 157.25p 3.76%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,228.50p 3.76%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Melrose Industries (MRO) 89.00p -0.13%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 7,438.00p -0.03%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,687.80p 0.01%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,215.00p 0.13%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,962.00p 0.24%
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 9,070.00p 0.29%
Fresnillo (FRES) 730.40p 0.38%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 202.60p 0.45%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,385.00p 0.59%
DCC (DCC) 5,410.00p 0.63%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Marston's (MARS) 32.06p 6.87%
William Hill (WMH) 97.98p 5.81%
Redrow (RDW) 475.00p 5.32%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 70.98p 5.22%
Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 1,286.00p 5.07%
Ninety One (N91) 164.80p 4.70%
Trainline (TRN) 353.80p 4.55%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 70.00p 4.48%
Senior (SNR) 62.65p 4.42%
Capita (CPI) 34.77p 4.01%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Premier Oil (PMO) 25.31p -5.13%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 56.50p -4.16%
Savills (SVS) 870.50p -1.58%
Pantheon International (PIN) 1,710.00p -1.50%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 1,028.00p -1.44%
McCarthy & Stone (MCS) 71.50p -0.83%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 169.90p -0.82%
Hammerson (HMSO) 58.16p -0.78%
UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (UDG) 626.00p -0.63%
NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited Red (NESF) 111.70p -0.27%