FTSE 100 gains on earnings boost, Vodafone jumps

London's FTSE 100 headed higher on Tuesday as a batch of upbeat quarterly earnings updates outweighed concerns about a slower economic recovery as countries balance reopening businesses with avoiding a potential jump in COVID-19 cases. The blue-chip FTSE 100 gained 0.5%, with Vodafone , the world's second largest mobile operator, jumping 3.4% to the top of the index after meeting full-year profit expectations and saying it was seeing significant increases in data volumes.

Home improvement group Kingfisher said sales in the three months ended April fell by a quarter, but its shares rose 6.5% as it said store re-openings meant it was seeing an improving trend at the beginning of May. The stock was the top boost to the domestically focussed FTSE 250, pushing up the index 0.2%.

Supermarket group Morrisons added 1.4% after reporting a 5.7% rise in group like-for-like sales in its latest quarter, with demand boosted by the country's coronavirus lockdown.