Marks & Spencer Share News (MKS)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 maintained its momentum from the open as it continued to climb at midday on Monday, buoyed after trade tensions between the US and China seemed to ease over the weekend.Amid broad-based gains, AstraZeneca rose on news the US Food & Drug Administration has approved Lokelma, while Barclays was higher after the Crown Court dismissed charges brought against the company by the UK Serious Fraud Office.The FTSE 100 index was up 0.8%, or 61.33 points at 7,840.12 Monday midday, having hit an all-time high of 7,851.43 earlier in the session. "The FTSE 100 has hit record highs in early trade, with a clear improvement in market sentiment coming off the back of the weekend agreement between China and the US to avert the potential trade war," said IG market analyst Joshua Mahony.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday said the US is "putting the trade war on hold" and won't impose tariffs for now while it works on a framework for trade with China.The comments followed talks Thursday and Friday between US and Chinese negotiators in Washington that produced a joint statement saying China would begin buying more US goods and services.The FTSE 250 index was up 0.7%, or 140.60 points, at 21,130.37 by midday. The mid-cap index hit its own record high of 21,131.48 earlier in Monday's session.The AIM All-Share index was up 0.3% at 1,091.59, as it traded around its best levels since late 2007.The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.8% at 13,301.79. The Cboe UK 250 also was up 0.8% at 19,359.96, and the Cboe UK Small Companies up 0.2% at 12,912.68.In mainland Europe at midday, the CAC 40 stock index in Paris was up 0.%. Markets in Germany and Switzerland are closed for the Whit Monday holiday.Stocks in New York on Monday were pointed to a higher open following news of a trade remedy for the US and China, having finished broadly lower on Friday. The Dow Jones was called up 0.9% - having closed flat on Friday - with the S&P 500 pointed 0.5% higher and the Nasdaq composite seen gaining 0.6%, the two having ended down 0.3% and 0.4% on Friday, respectively.To come in a thin economic events calendar on Monday, there is the Chicago Fed National Activity Index at 1330 BST. In London's FTSE 100 at midday, AstraZeneca was 2.3% higher after it said the US FDA has approved Lokelma, formerly ZS-9, for the treatment of adults with hyperkalaemia.Hyperkalaemia is characterised by elevated potassium levels in the blood, associated with cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases. The FDA approval is supported by data from three double-blind, placebo-controlled trials and two open-label trials."We are pleased by today's FDA approval of Lokelma as it enables us to help address a long-standing clinical need with a new medicine that offers rapid and sustained treatment for adults with hyperkalaemia," said Sean Bohen, executive vice president, global medicines development and chief medical officer at AstraZeneca.Seperately, the blue-chip pharmaceutical firm said it has submitted a supplemental new drug application to Japan's Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices Agency for the use of Forxiga - a selective sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor - as an oral adjunct treatment to insulin in adults with type-1 diabetes.Marks & Spencer was up 2.1% after the clothing, food and homewares retailer said it has appointed Katie Bickerstaffe and Pip McCrostie in the role of non-executive directors.Bickerstaffe has experience in retail transformation, having worked in a variety of functions in leading UK retailers, M&S said, and will help in the first phase of its transformation programme. McCrostie, who worked in finance for accountants Ernst & Young, will bring financial and analytical skills, it said.The FTSE 100-listed company reports its annual results on Wednesday.Lender Barclays was up 1.0% after it said the Crown Court has dismissed all charges brought against the company by the UK Serious Fraud Office in relation to its capital raising in 2018.The charges dismissed relate to two advisory services agreements entered into with Qatar Holding in June and October 2008, and a USD3 billion loan provided to the State of Qatar in November 2008."The SFO is likely to seek to re-instate these charges by applying to a High Court Judge to re-commence proceedings via a new indictment of the same charges," Barclays noted however.Elsewhere on the Main Market, Ryanair was up 4.2% as it reported a strong set of full-year results, though said it was "on the pessimistic side of cautious" for its year ahead.Ryanair's revenue reached EUR7.15 billion for the year ended March, a 7.7% increase from EUR6.64 billion last year, as pretax profit rose 10% to EUR1.61 billion, up from EUR1.47 billion.The company expects to grow traffic by 7% to 139 million, at a flat load factor of 95%. Unit costs in the current year will rise 9%, amid a continued shortage of pilots in Europe."A key question for the market to consider is whether Ryanair's pessimistic outlook alongside strong full-year results is a classic piece of expectations management or a true reflection of the challenges facing the business," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell."After all chief executive Michael O'Leary's 'pessimistic side of cautious' guidance sets a fairly low bar for the budget airline to clear," Mould noted.Restore was 5.5% lower after it said 2018 started "satisfactorily", with its annual expectations unchanged, though margins in its Datashred business have been lower than forecast. Document Management continues to trade well, and Restore Digital "satisfactorily".