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* Hochschild jumps after comments on Peru restart
* BP, Shell boost FTSE 100 as oil prices hit one-month high
* BoE considering negative interest rates - report
* Mall operator Intu slumps on warning of debt default
* FTSE 100 up 4.3%, FTSE 250 adds 3.6%
(Adds comments, updates prices to close)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
May 18 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index recorded its
strongest performance since late March on Monday as investors
bet on a faster recovery from a coronavirus-driven recession.
The FTSE 100 closed up 4.3% after ending Friday with
its first weekly slide in three. BP Plc and Royal Dutch
Shell Plc gained more than 8% each, as signs of higher
demand drove oil prices to a one-month high.
"Currently, it's very sentiment driven because it's all
about reopening and rather than closing," said Stefan Koopman,
senior markets economist at Rabobank.
"It feels like investors have a fear of missing out and they
just want to join this rally. That's why it's very broad based
and led by sectors that are most strongly hit by the shutdown."
The mining index surged 8.1%, also recording
its biggest one-day percentage gain in nearly two months,
tracking commodity prices higher, while the domestically focused
FTSE 250 rose 3.6%.
Precious metals miner Hochschild jumped 12% after
saying it would restart its Peru operations in the coming weeks.
Trillions of dollars in global stimulus helped the FTSE 100
rebound in April from a coronavirus-fuelled selloff in March,
but gains in May have been tempered by growing evidence of the
economic havoc already wrought by the health crisis.
A survey on Monday showed the number of Britons visiting
shops collapsed in April due to a nationwide lockdown, while the
head of the country's budget forecasting office warned UK
economic output could have slumped more than 30% last month.
The banking index was among the smallest
gainers of the day as a report cited the Bank of England's chief
economist as saying the central bank was looking more urgently
at negative interest rates to prop up the economy.
With the shutdown in economic activity putting millions out
of work globally, investor attention will be on UK employment
data due Tuesday, before turning to inflation and business
activity data later in the week.
London-listed shares of Ryanair Holdings Plc jumped
15.8% after Europe's largest low-cost carrier announced details
of sharp cost cuts and promised a swift return to full capacity
and expansion.
In contrast, mall operator Intu Properties Plc
fell 4.3% after warning it would likely breach its debt
commitments at the end of June due to falling rental payments.
(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal, Devik Jain and Sagarika
Jaisinghani in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Jane
Merriman)
