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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Tuesday as countries moved to ease lockdown measures, while oil majors lifted the FTSE 100 following a strong rise in downtrodden oil prices.
The large-cap index was up 85.44 points, or 1.5%, at 5,839.22. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 191.89 points, or 1.2%, at 16,143.57. The AIM All-Share index was up 0.5% at 803.95.
The Cboe UK 100 index was up 1.3% at 9,859.40. The Cboe 250 was up 0.5% at 13,769.25 and the Cboe Small Companies was flat at 8,864.68.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 2.3%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was up 1.8%.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "Reverting back to the optimism that started to creep in towards the end of April - before Donald Trump opened his big mouth and unleashed an election-eyeing attack on China - the Europe markets all rebounded on Tuesday.
"With PM Boris Johnson likely to unveil some form of lockdown plan this week, Italy and Spain easing restrictions, and California to follow suit on Friday, investors decided to turn away from the US-China tensions to focus on the idea that the worst part of the pandemic may be approaching its end."
On the London Stock Exchange, oil majors were leading the blue-chip risers tracking spot oil prices higher. BP was up 5.0% and Royal Dutch Shell 'A' and 'B' shares up 4.8% and 4.7% respectively.
Brent oil was quoted at USD29.05 a barrel Tuesday morning, up 11% from USD26.12 late Monday.
"The rebound in oil has been largely driven by an increase in demand as governments ease lockdown restrictions. Data from the Cushing storage (largest oil storage tank in the world, responsible for 13% of total US storage) showed inventories rose 1.88mb last week, the smallest increase since mid-March and the surest indication that oil demand is slowly picking up," City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta said.
In addition, Shell is selling its Appalachia shale gas assets, in the US, for USD541 million. Shell, through its affiliate SWEPI, has agreed to sell its integrated upstream and midstream assets in Pennsylvania to US firm National Fuel Gas.
Carnival was up 5.0%. The cruise line operator said any resumption of cruise line operations will be dependent on government approvals and will include enhanced operational protocols and social distancing guidelines.
The Anglo-American cruise operator has been hit hard by the global Covid-19 pandemic, with port restrictions around the world forcing the company to halt cruise operations and offer refunds to customers. It also had to raise around GBP6.5 billion in April to bolster its liquidity position.
The statement came following the company's announcement on Monday of the resumption of some North American cruise operations from August 31.
The pound was quoted at USD1.2458 early Tuesday, firm from USD1.2425 at the London equities close on Monday, ahead of the UK services PMI reading at 0930 BST.
Analysts at Swiss Quote said: "What sterling investors will be watching is the government’s plans to start reopening businesses later this week. We expect that the lockdown in the UK will likely be extended toward the first week of June and continue taking a toll on the service-heavy British economy for another full month.
"On the other hand, the clock is ticking louder towards June 2 when, in the dearth of progress in the EU trade deal negotiations, Britain will start preparations for a no-deal Brexit. We see little chance of any development on this end, as governments are too busy dealing with the coronavirus crisis."
Meanwhile, Germany's top court will rule Tuesday on whether the mass bond-buying by the European Central Bank is legal under German law.
The euro was quoted at USD1.0910, flat from USD1.0913.
Judges are expected to issue their ruling later in the morning in Karlsruhe, when Andreas Vosskuhle - president of the second senate of the Constitutional Court - reads the verdict.
Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY106.59, lower than JPY106.87.
Gold was quoted at USD1,701.10 an ounce, marginally lower from USD1,705.55,
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 1.1%. Stock markets in Tokyo and Shanghai remain closed for public holidays.
The economic events calendar on Tuesday has eurozone producer prices at 1000 BST.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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