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* Most of Europe would be open for Britons by May 17 -
EasyJet CEO
* Glencore rises after Goldman Sachs upgrades to "buy"
* Robert Walters gains on upbeat annual profit forecast
* FTSE 100 up 0.7%, FTSE 250 adds 0.4%
(Updates to close)
By Devik Jain and Shashank Nayar
April 14 (Reuters) - British shares ended higher on
Wednesday, helped by gains in heavyweight energy and travel
stocks, while Tesco slipped to the bottom of the index after
reporting a 20% drop in full-year pretax profit.
The blue-chip index rose 0.7%, with BP and
Royal Dutch Shell providing upward momentum, while
commodity trader Glencore Plc was the top gainer, up
5.4% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to "buy" from
"neutral".
“The FTSE 100 is still far away from its March 2020 highs,
so there is good potential upside left and investors seem to be
quite optimistic on UK equities as we enter the earnings
season,” said Michael Baker, an analyst at ETX Capital.
However, gains were capped by Britain's biggest retailer
Tesco, which tumbled 2% to the bottom of the FTSE 100,
as the cost of adapting the business for the pandemic wiped out
its "exceptionally strong" sales.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 has risen 7.4% this year as investors
bet on a faster pace of economic recovery as businesses reopen,
further aided by vaccine rollouts and government stimulus.
However, a recent surge in global COVID-19 cases and concerns of
higher inflation have limited gains.
The mid-cap index gained 0.4% with low-cost air
carrier Easyjet giving the biggest boost, up 5.8%.
The wider travel sector gained 1.5% on hopes
that the great British getaway would be possible this summer,
with easyJet predicting that most of Europe would be open for
travel and British Airways confident on routes to the United
States, despite ongoing uncertainty.
Drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc rose 1.5% after China's
health regulator approved Tagrisso, its lung cancer treatment,
as an adjuvant treatment for patients with early-stage lung
cancer.
Among other stocks, Robert Walters shares jumped
6.3% after the recruiting company forecast upbeat annual profit.
Burberry Group added 1.2% as its French rival
LVMH's first-quarter sales bounced back far more
quickly than expected.
(Reporting by Devik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh
Kuber and Uttaresh.V and Barbara Lewis)
