* Hammerson best weekly performer, marks record weekly gain
* Travel stocks surge on report of easing quarantine
measures
* FTSE 100 up 6.7% for the week, FTSE 250 adds nearly 7%
(Adds details, graphic, updates to close)
By Ambar Warrick
June 5 (Reuters) - London-listed shares ended at near
three-month highs on Friday, marking their third straight week
of gains as optimism around a post-coronavirus economic recovery
drove investors back to riskier assets.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 and the mid-cap index
both ended about 2.3% higher, posting their best week in nearly
two months.
An unexpected rise in U.S. non-farm payrolls during May also
spurred gains late in the session, with Wall Street indexes
rallying on the data.
EasyJet, cruise operator Carnival and
British-Airways owner IAG surged as a report said https://www.ft.com/content/59fc4439-42b3-4de4-8276-5948d4514c4f
some European countries were keen to adopt transport corridors,
letting British holidaymakers visit Mediterranean resorts
without quarantining for 14 days on their return.
Carnival, which is slated to leave the FTSE 100 later in the
month, also topped the index for the day with a 19.8% gain.
"Investors continued to bid up airlines despite the sector
being in turmoil, betting that they will survive the crisis and
that their shares have been oversold," said Russ Mould,
investment director at AJ Bell.
British stocks have gained substantially over the past two
weeks, with the domestically-focussed mid-cap index rising
sharply after the UK government outlined plans to reopen several
retail spaces from June.
Shopping centre operator Hammerson PLC was the best
weekly performer among British stocks, adding 86% in its best
week ever, after it said its flagship destinations in England
would reopen from June 15.
The British bluechip index is now about 15% off record highs
hit in January, with the gradual reopening of the economy and
improving economic indicators inviting more money back into
markets.
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey rose 1.7% after it said it
had seen a surge in interest in buying homes since its English
sales centres and show homes came back on line.
Premier Oil surged 25.2% after saying it would issue
discounted shares to activist hedge fund ARCM representing 8.91%
of the company to pay for North Sea assets from BP.
(Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani and Shashank Nayar in
Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Ken Ferris)
