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* Boris Johnson to decide on lockdown exit this week
* Rolls-Royce up after appointing new CFO
* Mitchells & Butlers rises on plans to raise $486.05
million
* FTSE 100 up 2.5%, FTSE 250 adds 1.8%
(Updates to market close)
By Shivani Kumaresan
Feb 15 (Reuters) - British stocks rose on Monday, as mining
and energy stocks tracked strong gains in commodity prices and
investors were hopeful global vaccine rollouts would quicken the
economic recovery this year.
The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 was up 2.5%, clocking
its best day in over a month, boosted by miners Anglo American
, Rio Tinto and BHP Group and oil
producers BP and Royal Dutch Shell.
"Government attempts to manage expectations on COVID-19
better are helpful to the market which is now probably
pleasantly surprised at just how quickly the UK has vaccinated
the most vulnerable sections of its population," said Russ
Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
"This is making it easier for investors to look through to a
reopening of the economy even if the pace at which restrictions
are eased remains a topic of fierce debate."
The FTSE 100 has recovered nearly 34% from its March 2020
lows, led by a raft of stimulus measures, but a surge in
infections and recent widespread lockdowns have slowed economic
growth. The index has also lagged its U.S. and European peers.
England's new COVID-19 hotel quarantine system for arrivals
from high-risk countries is running smoothly after it was
introduced earlier in the day, the health minister said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would plot a
"cautious but irreversible" path out of the COVID-19 lockdown,
after the vaccination of 15 million people so far in Britain.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 index added 1.8%, reaching over
11 month high, with travel group TUI AG gaining the
most.The wider travel and leisure sub-index gained
4.3%.
Britain's housebuilding sector gained 2.1% as a
survey showed asking prices for homes unexpectedly rose in
January and early February.
In company news, Rolls-Royce rose 3.5% after
appointing Panos Kakoullis, the former head of Deloitte's audit
and assurance practice, as its new chief financial officer.
Pub operator Mitchells & Butlers jumped 7.9%, after
plans to raise 350 million pounds ($486.05 million) through an
open offer of shares.
(Reporting by Shivani Kumaresan in Bengaluru; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu and Krishna Chandra Eluri)
