Portfolio

London open: Stocks rise after Monday's selloff; Kingfisher rallies

By Michele Maatouk

Date: Tuesday 22 Sep 2020

London open: Stocks rise after Monday's selloff; Kingfisher rallies

(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Tuesday following the worst selloff since June in the previous session.
At 0835 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 5,833.80, having lost more than 3% on Monday amid worries about rising coronavirus cases and tighter restrictions in the UK and on the continent.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "The government's biggest problem now is while there was a widespread acceptance of a large-scale lockdown in early March when hospital admissions were surging, the appetite now isn't anywhere near as great amongst certain sections of the population.

"This change has come about as a result of a realisation on the part of an increasing number of people that politicians will at some point need to decide on some level what's more important. Another lockdown and, or tighter restrictions, with the result that thousands of jobs could be lost for ever as businesses start to close, or finding a way to learn to cope with a virus that is likely to be with us for the foreseeable future. This is the choice now being confronted, the facts of which need to be faced up to, as governments stare at the prospect of their very own no win scenario."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce later in the day a new set of restrictions including a 10pm curfew for pubs, bars and restaurants in England and table-service only. The government is also expected to say that people should work from home if they can.

In equity markets, B&Q owner Kingfisher rallied after it posted a 23.1% jump in first-half adjusted pre-tax profit thanks to a strong sales recovery in the second quarter.

Online supermarket Ocado and food delivery service Just Eat were also in the black as demand for both companies is expected to increase amid tighter Covid-19 restrictions.

Travel giant TUI was up after saying it continues to anticipate low single-digit hundreds million of cash outflow per month for the final quarter of the financial year after paying out more refunds to customers in August and September.

British Airways and Iberia parent IAG and engine maker Rolls-Royce were both weaker for the second day in a row amid concerns about the impact of further restrictions on the airline industry.

Cruise operator Carnival and budget airline easyJet also fell, while pub chain Wetherspoons was under the cosh on the curfew news.

Hotel and restaurant chain Whitbread lost ground as it said it was cutting 6,000 jobs after suffering a slump in trading due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Premier Inn owner announced the 18% cut in its workforce as like-for-like sales plunged by more than 77% as it felt the full force of the lockdown from March to June.

Insurer Beazley fell sharply after it said Covid-19 claims are set to double from the $170m expected in April, mainly due to event cancellation losses.



Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 5,833.80 0.51%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,820.04 -0.30%
techMARK (TASX) 3,728.58 0.13%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Kingfisher (KGF) 282.00p 6.54%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,865.00p 2.21%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 8,726.00p 2.13%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,675.50p 1.92%
Avast (AVST) 522.50p 1.75%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,364.50p 1.75%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,072.50p 1.61%
Aveva Group (AVV) 4,854.00p 1.51%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,739.00p 1.47%
Experian (EXPN) 2,999.00p 1.45%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 93.64p -3.66%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,515.00p -2.75%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,052.00p -2.70%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 156.50p -2.61%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 461.20p -2.23%
NATWEST GROUP PLC ORD 100P (NWG) 91.32p -2.14%
British Land Company (BLND) 326.10p -1.98%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,274.00p -1.86%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 435.50p -1.78%
Informa (INF) 361.40p -1.69%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Network International Holdings (NETW) 253.60p 7.46%
Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 282.00p 3.49%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 275.50p 3.18%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 54.55p 2.44%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 2,355.00p 2.39%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 9,590.00p 2.35%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 8,726.00p 2.13%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 1,040.00p 2.06%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 34.70p 2.06%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 370.80p 2.04%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Beazley (BEZ) 329.60p -15.49%
Redrow (RDW) 352.20p -5.12%
Carnival (CCL) 850.60p -4.83%
easyJet (EZJ) 472.10p -4.66%
Future (FUTR) 1,752.00p -4.37%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 291.10p -3.42%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 860.60p -3.17%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 752.00p -2.84%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 209.30p -2.83%
Vistry Group (VTY) 525.00p -2.78%

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