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* FTSE 100 up 2.8%, FTSE 250 adds 3.1%
* Rio Tinto surges after upbeat Q1 production
* Foxtons soars on new share issuance, furlough
* UK markets still end with weekly loss
(Updates with market closing)
By Devik Jain and Sruthi Shankar
April 17 (Reuters) - British shares closed higher on Friday
as investors cheered plans for a gradual restarting of the U.S.
economy and encouraging data emerged on a possible treatment for
COVID-19.
The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 index closed up 2.8%,
boosted by oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell
which added 4% and 5.5% respectively, though on the week the
index fell 0.95%.
Miners gained after the world's top iron ore
miner Rio Tinto posted higher-than-expected
quarterly production, sending its shares up 3.3%.
Other cyclical sectors such as banks, travel and leisure,
insurers and industrials all rose.
Markets globally extended their gains for a second straight
week as the United States joined other countries in unveiling
lockdown exit plans with a staggered, three-stage approach
following signs new virus cases were flattening.
Further helping the mood, a report detailed positive partial
data from trials of U.S. drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc's
experimental drug in severe COVID-19 patients.
"There's a lot of hope in the market that things might go
back to normal slowly," said Keith Temperton, a sales trader at
brokerage Tavira Securities.
"It's a bit presumptive. We know the governments will try
and open up economies, but supply chains are going to be
hampered for longer and consumers will be far more reluctant to
get back to normal," Temperton added.
The FTSE 100 has recovered about 18% since its mid-March
lows as policymakers injected billions in stimulus response
measures.
Further gains will likely be put to the test next week, with
the release of UK jobs data and business activity figures, while
European companies are likely to report the steepest profit fall
since the 2008 global financial meltdown.
The more domestically focused FTSE 250 midcap index
closed up 3.1%, with travel and leisure stocks,
among the worst hit this year, up 6.3%. Cineworld
surged 21.4%.
Despite Friday's bounce, both major FTSE indexes recorded
modest weekly losses as the UK government extended its lockdown
for at least another three weeks.
Paddy Power Betfair parent Flutter Entertainment
jumped about 16% after saying revenue had been more resilient to
coronavirus disruption than expected.
Real estate agent Foxtons surged 22% after issuing
new shares and furloughing about 750 employees to shore up its
finances.
Hotel operator Whitbread rose 4.8% after confirming it was
able to access the government's funding facility.
(Reporting by Devik Jain and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru
Editing by Arun Koyyur and David Holmes)
