London stocks gain on recovery optimism; energy firm SSE jumps

London's FTSE 100 rose for a second straight day on Wednesday as a slew of upbeat corporate earnings reports bolstered hopes of a post-coronavirus economic recovery, with energy firm SSE Plc jumping after posting a better-than-expected annual profit. The renewable power generator and network operator surged 10% to its highest in three months even as it warned of a hit to profit for the current year due to the impact from the coronavirus crisis.

London's FTSE 100 rose for a second straight day on Wednesday as a slew of upbeat corporate earnings reports bolstered hopes of a post-coronavirus economic recovery, with energy firm SSE Plc jumping after posting a better-than-expected annual profit.

The renewable power generator and network operator surged 10% to its highest in three months even as it warned of a hit to profit for the current year due to the impact from the coronavirus crisis. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.9% after ending Tuesday with its best session in a month following robust U.S. economic data and positive results from a UK drug trial in reducing COVID-19 death rates.

The FTSE 250 gained 1.1%, with home improvement group Kingfisher climbing 4.9% to the top of the mid-cap index on reporting a jump in quarterly underlying sales. Online fashion group Boohoo surged 8.6% as it forecast annual results ahead of market expectations, thanks to strong demand for its brands and apparel during lockdowns.

"Any sort of upswings in the market are going to be based on the earnings performance of companies because a majority of the macro-related developments are already factored in," said Andrea Cicione, head of strategy at TS Lombard. UK stock markets have rebounded sharply from a coronavirus-driven crash in March, with the FTSE 100 now just 18% below its record high, as investors bet on more global stimulus and an easing in lockdowns to revive business activity.

Data on Wednesday showed British inflation hit a four-year low in May, leaving the Bank of England free to ramp up its stimulus programme again. Early gains were led by construction, real estate and retail stocks, with nearly 90% of the stocks on the FTSE 100 trading higher.

Domino's Pizza Group slumped 10.8% after saying its first-half core earnings would be hit by additional costs during the lockdown.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)