Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 was higher in early trade on Monday, shrugging off share price falls for AstraZeneca, Rolls-Royce and Experian, as global markets got a boost from progress on US President Joe Biden's USD1.9 trillion stimulus plan.
The FTSE 100 index was up 18.62 points, or 0.3%, at 6,507.95. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was down 41.65 points, or 0.2%, at 21,025.22. The AIM All-Share index was down 0.3% at 1,208.35.
The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.3% at 647.13 points. The Cboe 250 was down 0.1% at 18,479.51, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 1.3% at 12,629.96.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.3% while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was 0.5% higher.
Sterling was trading at USD1.3727 on Monday morning, largely flat from USD1.3728 at the London equities close on Friday.
The euro stood at USD1.2042 on Monday morning London time, up from USD1.2025 at the European equities close on Friday.
Rolls-Royce was the worst-performing FTSE 100 stock, down 2.2%. It is planning to shut down its jet engine factories this summer due to insufficient work, the Telegraph reported on Saturday.
According to the newspaper, this is the first time Roll-Royce has done this and results from what Rolls-Royce described as a "significantly reduced" workload resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The two-week closures, focused around its headquarters in Derby, will affect all of the 19,000 staff within Rolls-Royce's civil aerospace division, including 12,500 UK staff, who make airliner jet engines.
Experian fell 1.4%. It said it is continuing a "detailed forensic investigation" following a Brazilian data leak, but noted that evidence suggests its technology systems have not been compromised.
The credit checking firm noted that "data which is being illegally offered for sale on the internet, some of which may have been sourced from Serasa's non-sensitive marketing data". Serasa is a Brazilian unit owned by Experian. Like its parent, Serasa provides credit granting and validation services.
Experian said it is "continuing to carry out a detailed forensic investigation".
So far, the company explained, it knows that data offered includes photographs, social media logins, vehicles registrations, and "social security INSS", the latter concerning social security contributions in Brazil. Experian however, noted that this data is not collected by Serasa.
AstraZeneca was 0.1% lower, after South Africa temporarily suspended the AstraZeneca and Oxford University jab against a new Covid-19 variant found in the country, according to the health department and top local scientists.
The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine protects against the original Covid-19 strain, but its efficacy drops off substantially when it comes to the new variant called B.1.351 or 501.V2, raising serious concerns, said Shabir Madhi, the professor of vaccinology at the University of the Witwatersrand, citing a new local study involving 2,000 participants.
BDSwiss Head of Investment Research Marshall Gittler commented: "The disappointing results could raise doubts about how quickly the world will return to normal."
Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment rose 2.1%. Morgan Stanley raised the stock to Overweight from Equal-Weight.
Lloyds Banking also climbed 2.1% after Goldman Sachs lifted the lender to Neutral from Sell.
Benefiting as well from a ratings lift was mid-cap mining technology company Weir Group, up 4.3%. It was the best FTSE 250 performer early on Monday after Morgan Stanley raised the stock to Overweight from Equal-Weight.
Share price falls for pub owners JD Wetherspoon, down 3.5%, and Mitchells & Butlers, 2.0% lower, weighed on the mid-cap index.
The Daily Telegraph over the weekend reported the prospect of dry pubs was being discussed as an option to allow bars to open their doors in April but UK government sources were dismissive about the idea, asking what the point of a pub without alcohol would be.
British Beer & Pub Association Chief Executive Emma McClarkin said: "Opening pubs without selling alcohol is not 'reopening' pubs at all."
Online retailer boohoo Group fell 2.9%. It joined online peer ASOS in snapping up retail brands from the failed Arcadia Group.
boohoo will buy the e-commerce and digital assets and associated intellectual property rights of Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis for GBP25.2 million from Arcadia's joint-administrators.
"This is a great acquisition for the group as we extend our market share across a broader demographic, capitalising on growth opportunities as more and more customers shop online. We continue to grow our portfolio of brands and customer base, strengthening our position as a leader in global fashion e-commerce," boohoo Executive Chair Mahmud Kamani said.
The deal does not include any stores, however.
Arrow Global Group shares shot up 28% early on Monday. TDR Capital said it made another approach to acquire the buyer of debt from banks, credit card companies and telecommunications businesses.
TDR said the latest proposal, made on Friday, prices Arrow Global shares at 305 pence, which the private equity firm said was a 36% premium to the company's 224.0p closing price on Thursday.
A 305p offer would value all of Arrow Global at roughly GBP540 million.
On Monday, Arrow Global shares were trading at 294.00p, valuing the firm at around GBP525.0 million.
TDR added that it previously made approaches at 250p per share, 265p and 290p. The most recent was shrugged off by the Arrow board in late-January.
This time, Arrow's Group Chief Investment Officer Zachary Lewy "has entered into a binding letter of support", TDR said. The private equity firm noted "he is fully supportive of the fourth proposal".
Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY105.53, improved from JPY105.45 at the London market close on Friday.
"The prospect of additional fiscal stimulus also continues to buoy markets. Late on Friday, the US House of Representatives gave final approval to a budget approval that would allow President Biden's USD1.9 trillion stimulus plan to be fast tracked. Over the weekend, US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen touted the relief package as having the potential to return the US to full employment in 2022," analysts at Lloyds said.
US futures were higher on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were both called up 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.5%.
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com;
Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
