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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Tuesday as part of a global equity rally fuelled by renewed optimism over the recovery outlook after the US regulator gave full approval to Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine.
The FTSE 100 index was up 14.11 points, or 0.2%, at 7,123.13. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 103.32 points, or 0.4%, at 23,843.81. The AIM All-Share index was up 0.3% at 1,269.52.
The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.1% at 708.81. The Cboe 250 was up 0.3% at 21,679.52, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 15,440.81.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 stock index in Paris was 0.5% higher, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was up 0.2%.
Richard Hunter, head of Markets at interactive investor, commented: "Investors have for the moment reverted to the glass half-full mentality, with buying interest in big tech propelling the Nasdaq to a record closing high. Sentiment was also buoyed by the US Food & Drug Administration granting full approval for the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, prompting hopes that the level of inoculations could be accelerated as a result.
"This fed through to a positive showing from the FTSE 100, although the more domestically focused FTSE 250 dipped slightly on some ongoing pressure for the UK economy. Investors will be looking out for signs that blockages in the supply chain are being cleared and that the current levels of labour shortages can be reversed, neither of which are currently in evidence."
In the FTSE 100, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust was the best performer, up 2.1%, tracking a record close for the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index in New York on Monday.
The trust has a 5.1% stake in Elon Musk's Tesla and a 5.9% holding in Jeff Bezos's Amazon. Shares in Tesla and Amazon ended up 3.8% and 2.1% in New York respectively on Monday.
At the other end of the large-caps, J Sainsbury was the worst performer, down 1.7%. The supermarket stock was giving back some of Monday's strong gains after the Sunday Times reported the company was the object of private equity interest. Sainsbury's had closed up 15% on Monday.
In the FTSE 250, Coats Group was up 3.0% after Jefferies started coverage on the industrial thread manufacturer with a Buy rating.
Spectris was up 0.7%. The precision instruments maker said it has agreed the USD180 million sale of its NDC Technologies unit as part of its simplification plan.
The Egham, England-based firm said the unit will be sold to Nordson Corp, a coatings firm based in Westlake, Ohio.
At the other end of the midcaps, John Wood was the worst performer, down 4.5%. The energy services provider reported a decline in first-half revenue, as the negative effects from the coronavirus pandemic continued to be felt.
Revenue for the six months ended June 30 was USD3.15 billion, down 23% from USD4.09 billion in the period partially before the pandemic's outbreak a year before. The decline was attributed to the damage caused by Covid-19 and a USD74 million reduction in revenue from sold businesses.
Looking ahead, John Wood expects full-year revenue in the range of USD6.6 billion to USD6.8 billion underpinned by trading momentum and strong order book growth, with USD3.0 billion for delivery in the second half. It posted revenue of USD7.6 billion for 2020.
The company declared no interim dividend, in line with the year before, but said it was committed to reviewing the future policy as certainty over the rate of recovery in markets increases.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3726 early Tuesday, up from USD1.3717 at the London equities close Monday.
The euro stood at USD1.1745, rising from USD1.1734. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was priced at JPY109.75, marginally lower from JPY109.78.
Brent oil was quoted at USD69.10 a barrel Tuesday morning, higher from USD68.44 late Monday. Gold was quoted at USD1,803.45 an ounce, slightly lower from USD1,804.37.
Asian markets were higher on Tuesday. The Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.9%. In China, the Shanghai Composite finished up 1.1%, and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 2.0%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney ended up 0.2%.
A slim economic calendar on Tuesday has US new home sales at 1500 BST.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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