Travel, commodity stocks boost London shares on vaccine hopes
London's FTSE 100 rose on Tuesday, boosted by commodity stocks as investors remained hopeful of a swift economic recovery based on positive COVID-19 vaccine updates, while travel stocks gained after England sought to shorten quarantine with a new testing system. The commodity-heavy index rose 0.8%, with energy and mining stocks jumping on higher crude and metal prices.
Reuters | London | Updated: 24-11-2020 15:36 IST | Created: 24-11-2020 15:29 IST
London's FTSE 100 rose on Tuesday, boosted by commodity stocks as investors remained hopeful of a swift economic recovery based on positive COVID-19 vaccine updates, while travel stocks gained after England sought to shorten quarantine with a new testing system.
The commodity-heavy index rose 0.8%, with energy and mining stocks jumping on higher crude and metal prices. The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index added 0.8% after England said it will introduce a new COVID-19 test-and-release scheme on Dec. 15 to reduce quarantine period for incoming passengers from high-risk countries.
Shares of British Airways owner IAG and low-cost airline EasyJet Plc jumped 5.4% and 5.7%, respectively, while travel group TUI AG and cruise operator Carnival Plc surged 10.4% and 9.3% each. "Today it seems to be just sort of a low-key dregs of the more recent optimistic trading based on the vaccine news," said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex.
"Investors are still thinking long-term post-vaccine at the moment and are looking into various sectors that have been hemorrhaged in the last eight months." A sharp rally in cyclicals like energy and bank stocks on vaccine-related cheer and hopes of a speedy economic recovery have helped the FTSE 100 index gain more than 14% this month, setting it for its best month on record.
Pets at Home Group tumbled 7.7% after it warned of an uncertain outlook in the initial weeks of a fresh UK lockdown. Catering firm Compass Group Plc rose 4.2% even as it reported a 75.5% slump in annual pretax profit.
Meat processor Cranswick Plc added 3.6% after posting a higher first-half profit. Technology firm IQE Plc rose 4.1% after it forecast a higher annual revenue and said its chief executive officer would step down after three decades at the helm.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
