London open: Stocks rise on US stimulus hopes; gold hits new high
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Wednesday 05 Aug 2020
(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Wednesday amid expectations of further coronavirus stimulus in the US, as gold prices hit a new high.
At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.8% to 6,083.72.
Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Ava Trade, said: "Republicans and Democrats are under pressure to resolve their differences over another coronavirus aid package. Steven Mnuchin, the US Treasury secretary has indicated that a deal can be reached by the end of this week and this is keeping the hopes alive among investors."
Precious metals miners Polymetal, Fresnillo and Hochschild were among the top gainers as gold prices hit $2,030 an ounce, rising above $2,000 for the first time.
Elsewhere, Hastings surged after it agreed terms on a £1.6bn takeover from a consortium led by Finnish insurer Sampo and its biggest shareholder, Rand Merchant Investment Holdings. The company also reported an increase in first-half profits as higher premium and an improved loss ratio offset the impact of claims inflation due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Coca-Cola HBC was trading up as the bottling group reported a decline in first-half profit and revenue due to Covid lockdowns but said trading was beginning to recover from April lows.
Gambling software company Playtech rallied as it hailed a resilient first half, while bookmaker William Hill was higher as it swung to a half-year profit, driven by a strong performance in its online division.
On the downside, Legal & General was under pressure as the insurer left its interim dividend unchanged and reported a 73% fall in first-half profit caused by low interest rates and investment losses.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,083.72 0.79%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,424.31 0.67%
techMARK (TASX) 3,811.39 0.62%
FTSE 100 - Risers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 185.55p 5.79%
ITV (ITV) 62.22p 4.75%
Polymetal International (POLY) 2,014.00p 4.49%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,119.00p 4.23%
Evraz (EVR) 307.00p 4.00%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 255.10p 4.00%
BP (BP.) 309.25p 3.34%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,306.00p 3.24%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 99.18p 2.78%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,354.00p 2.26%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 215.20p -2.23%
Diageo (DGE) 2,669.50p -1.89%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 333.65p -0.91%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 903.00p -0.66%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,444.00p -0.49%
Pennon Group (PNN) 1,059.00p -0.42%
Croda International (CRDA) 5,714.00p -0.42%
Avast (AVST) 568.50p -0.26%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 535.60p -0.22%
National Grid (NG.) 921.00p -0.22%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 252.40p 17.40%
Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 1,160.00p 11.54%
William Hill (WMH) 124.90p 6.62%
easyJet (EZJ) 586.00p 6.24%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 192.40p 6.01%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 292.00p 5.26%
Playtech (PTEC) 329.50p 4.54%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 326.00p 3.76%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,260.00p 3.28%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,382.00p 3.24%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
HGCapital Trust (HGT) 251.00p -3.46%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,352.00p -3.43%
Vivo Energy (VVO) 74.90p -2.35%
Scottish American Inv Company (SAIN) 427.00p -2.06%
Greggs (GRG) 1,274.00p -1.92%
PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,060.00p -1.85%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 37.81p -1.79%
Energean (ENOG) 604.00p -1.79%
C&C Group (CCR) 229.50p -1.71%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 423.00p -1.63%
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