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(Alliance News) - London stocks on Tuesday were recording solid gains despite the number of coronavirus deaths in China surging over 1,000.

Helping to push the blue-chip index higher was TUI, boosted by its Markets & Airlines business, while NMC Health shares sank after KKR said it does not intend to make an offer for the UAE-focused healthcare firm.

The FTSE 100 index was up 64.24 points, or 0.9%, at 7,511.12. The FTSE 250 was up 84.90 points, or 0.4%, at 21,578.22, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.4% at 965.42.

The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.8% at 12,719.15, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 19,450.97, and the Cboe Small Companies up 0.4% at 12,444.11.

In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.4%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was up 0.8%

"Sadly the coronavirus crisis continues to rumble on, but it seems the rate of infections is slowing, so traders have taken that as a positive sign. Some businesses in China are going back to work, and it was reported the authorities are encouraging firms to meet their production forecasts. Dealers are starting to question the initial reaction to the health crisis," said David Madden at CMC Markets.

Another 108 deaths were reported on Tuesday – the first triple-digit rise since the virus emerged.

The first death was reported on January 11. The number of deaths has increased a thousandfold in just one month, reaching 1,016, though the mortality rate remains relatively low at 2.4%.

Brent oil edged higher as risk appetite improved, quoted at USD54.14 a barrel midday Tuesday from USD53.58 late Monday.

Gold, meanwhile, fell back as demand for safe havens softened. The precious metal was trading at USD1,567.63 an ounce against USD1,574.80 at the close on Monday.

In the US, stocks are pointed towards a higher start. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 are both called up 0.3%, while the Nasdaq is seen 0.4% higher.

In data on Tuesday, the UK economy came to a standstill in the final three months of 2019, as expected.

UK gross domestic product was flat in the three months to December quarter-on-quarter, following growth of 0.5% in the preceding quarter. This was in line with consensus, according to FXStreet.

Year-on-year, the economy expanded 1.1% in the final quarter of 2019, beating expectations for 0.8% growth.

For December alone, gross domestic product grew 0.3% on a monthly basis, reversing a 0.3% decline seen in November and above consensus forecasts for a 0.2% rise.

And for 2019 as a whole, UK GDP grew by 1.4%, picking up slightly from 1.3% in 2018 but remaining one of the slowest growth rates recorded since the financial crisis just over a decade ago.

The pound stood at USD1.2929 at midday Tuesday, having traded below USD1.2900 in the morning prior to the GDP release. Sterling was quoted at USD1.2922 at the close on Monday.

"While the first estimate of Q4 GDP showed that the economy stagnated at the end of last year, this is old news and less important than the timelier data that suggests the economy has since turned a corner," said Capital Economics.

To come in the economic events calendar on Tuesday, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney appears in front of the UK Economic Affairs Committee at 1535 GMT in his last annual evidence session.

Before this, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will appear at the European parliament at 1400 GMT and US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies in front of congress at 1500 GMT.

Ahead of Lagarde's appearance, the euro stood at USD1.0915 at midday Tuesday, against USD1.0920 late Monday. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY109.84 compared to JPY109.76 late Monday.

In London, TUI and NMC Health were bookending the FTSE 100.

TUI, shares up 11%, said strong travel demand, particularly from the UK, will help it offset cost pressures from the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX.

The aircraft was grounded by regulators last year following two fatal crashes.

TUI said it saw the "best booking volumes month in the company's history" during the three months to December - following the collapse of rival Thomas Cook in September last year.

The Anglo-German travel operator anticipates high single digit percentage growth in revenue for the current financial year, versus previous mid-to-high single digit percentage growth guidance, due to strong trading trends in its Markets & Airlines business.

Annual earnings before interest and tax is now expected to be between EUR850 million to EUR1.05 billion versus previous guidance of EUR950 million to EUR1.05 billion. The tweak to this guidance was attributed to Boeing's intention to return the 737 MAX to service by mid-2020 as compared with a previous estimate of April.

NMC Health, meanwhile, sank 14%.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts confirmed that it does not intend to make an offer for NMC Health, a day after the UAE-focused private hospital operator confirmed it received "highly preliminary approaches" from two private equity firms.

KKR said it has not made a proposal nor discussed with NMC the terms of any possible offer.

Meanwhile, GKSD Investment Holding confirmed it is considering a potential offer for NMC. GKSD is backed by sponsors of Italian hospital chain Gruppo San Donato.

In 2020 so far, NMC shares have slumped 55%.

Elsewhere in the FTSE 100, JD Sports shares were up 3.0% despite the UK Competition & Markets Authority saying its phase two investigation has provisionally found the retailer's purchase of Footasylum could damp competition.

"The CMA's current view is that blocking the deal by requiring JD Sports to sell the Footasylum business may be the only way of addressing these competition concerns," said Kip Meek, chair of the independent inquiry group leading the investigation.

More positively, JD Sports said earnings are expected "at least" equal to the top end of market expectations for the current financial year.

This comes after a "robust" post-Christmas sales period in key overseas markets, the athleisurewear retailer said.

Ocado shares rose 2.8% despite recording a widened loss for its recently-ended financial year.

The online grocer said pretax loss widened in the 52 weeks ended December 1 to GBP214.5 million from GBP44.4 million a year prior due to an increase in operating expenses.

The firm booked a GBP88.0 million cost relating to its Andover customer fulfilment centre, associated with the write-off of assets lost in a fire which took place around a year ago.

More positively, Ocado reported revenue growth of 9.9% during the year to GBP1.76 billion from GBP1.60 billion a year earlier, driven by an increase in the average number of orders per week.

Elsewhere in London, intu Properties slumped 22% after Link Real Estate Investment Trust decided against taking part in an equity raise.

The company on Monday said Link Real Estate, which is listed in Hong Kong, was part negotiations to raise cash at the end of February, which would see it become a new shareholder in intu. intu also said talks with existing shareholders, including Peel Group, were "constructive".

However, intu saind on Tuesday: "Link Real Estate has informed intu of its intention to no longer participate in a recapitalisation of the company. intu remains engaged with shareholders and potential new investors in relation to a proposed equity raise."

The company is currently looking to fix a struggling balance sheet and has made a number of disposals recently to reduce debt.

By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com

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