Ocado lifts FTSE 100, mid-caps fall on lockdown concerns

London's FTSE 100 rose on Monday as investors bet on more stimulus with the UK set to enter another coronavirus-led lockdown, while Ocado jumped to a two-week high after it upgraded earnings outlook for its retail joint venture. The online supermarket and technology group rose 8.8% and was on track for its best day in nearly two months as it also said it would buy two robotics companies for a total of $287 million.

London's FTSE 100 rose on Monday as investors bet on more stimulus with the UK set to enter another coronavirus-led lockdown, while Ocado jumped to a two-week high after it upgraded earnings outlook for its retail joint venture.

The online supermarket and technology group rose 8.8% and was on track for its best day in nearly two months as it also said it would buy two robotics companies for a total of $287 million. The food and drugs retailer sub-index gained 3.9%, while the blue-chip FTSE 100 reversed early declines to rise 0.7% by 0957 GMT.

However, the domestically focussed mid-cap FTSE 250 lost 0.5% with Britain set for one of the most severe business restrictions since its peacetime history after midnight on Thursday until Dec. 2. "Fears of an interrupted V-shaped recovery have now become a reality," Deutsche Bank economist Sanjay Raja wrote in a note.

The FTSE 100 in October posted its biggest monthly decline since the coronavirus-fuelled crash in March on fears of a faltering economic recovery. A Reuters poll of economists suggested the economy was on course to contract 10% this year, its worst performance since the early 1700s. The government on Saturday announced a one-month return to 80% wage subsidies for people temporarily laid off, while the Bank of England is likely to announce a 100 billion-pound expansion of its bond buying stimulus at its policy meeting on Thursday.

Pub and restaurant operators Restaurant Group Plc, J D Wetherspoon Plc, Mitchells & Butlers Plc and Marton's tumbled between 4.4% and 8.5%. Primark-owner Associated British Foods Plc fell 1.1% after saying it would lose 375 million pounds of sales from temporary closures of its stores in major markets due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Brexit progress was also in focus, with European Union and British negotiators to continue talks in Brussels as both sides pushed to avoid a damaging breakdown in trade in less than nine weeks.

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