Last checked at 
* Cineworld among top FTMC performers on plans for July
reopening
* AstraZeneca up 4.4% after outlining COVID-19 treatment
trials
* GSK up 2% on plans for vaccine booster production
(Adds details, updates to close)
By Sagarika Jaisinghani and Ambar Warrick
May 28 (Reuters) - UK shares ended higher on Thursday,
helped by drugmakers AstraZeneca and GSK as markets looked for
more progress in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, while
optimism over the reopening of the economy persisted.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose another 1.2% after
ending Wednesday at an 11-week high, with AstraZeneca
the biggest boost.
The group, which is developing a leading coronavirus vaccine
with Oxford University, said it may have to consider introducing
vaccine trial participants to the virus.
GSK was the second biggest boost to the index as it
laid out plans to produce 1 billion doses of vaccine efficacy
boosters for COVID-19 shots next year.
While markets are looking forward to the ending of
virus-driven lockdowns, a vaccine would cement a return to
economic normalcy by negating the need for disruptive social
distancing.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 closed 1.1% higher, gaining for
the ninth session in a row as British employers turned slightly
less pessimistic about hiring.
Cinema operator Cineworld was among the best
performers on the mid-cap index as it planned to reopen all its
cinemas in July. It also secured an additional $110 million from
lenders and a waiver on loan covenants.
"Investors are not positioning their trades based on the
expected next two or three quarters' earnings," said FXTM market
strategist Hussein Sayed. "They are looking well beyond that."
"What seems to be priced in is the economy will recover much
faster than previously estimated, the pandemic will soon end and
life will return to normal."
Rebounding from a sharp coronavirus-led selloff in March, UK
stocks are on course for their biggest two-month gain since the
global financial crisis despite brewing U.S.-China tensions and
forecasts of a deep global recession.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said on Wednesday the
economy was at risk of a longer-than-expected recovery, but
hopes of even more stimulus have kept financial markets
optimistic.
(Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bengaluru; Editing by
Shounak Dasgupta and Jan Harvey)
