London open: Stocks rise as Omicron concerns ease

(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Monday as worries about the Omicron variant eased.
At 0840 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 7,166.81.

Oanda analyst Jeffrey Halley said: "US equity index futures are performing another omicron U-turn this morning, limiting the fallout in Asian markets of another fairly gruesome Wall Street session on Friday.

"The driver of the whip-saw return of serve omicron headline tennis comes from South Africa, where an article from the South African Medical Research Council, suggests that omicron symptoms were milder than previous incarnations, with hospitalised patients mostly having comorbidities. Of course, the sample size is small, but markets never let 'the data' these days get in the way of narrative. Omicron variant milder = U-turn = buy everything."

Chinese property group Evergrande was also in focus as its shares tumbled to an 11-year low after it appeared to be on the verge of default. The company said earlier that there was "no guarantee" it could meet its obligations and that creditors had demanded immediate repayment of a total of $260m (£196m).

In UK equity markets, oil giants BP and Shell gushed higher as oil prices rose.

Shipping broker Clarkson rallied after lifting its annual profits guidance as the global economy recovers from the impact of Covid-19. The company now expects underlying profit before tax to be not less than £65m, with performance strong across all divisions, especially in finance and broking.

ContourGlobal was also in the black after it upgraded full-year earnings guidance following a stronger-than-expected performance from its natural gas fired power plant in Arrubal, Spain.

Victrex advanced after it posted a rise in full-year profit and revenue and hiked its dividend.

Housebuilder Crest Nicholson was a high riser after an upgrade to 'overweight' at Barclays.

On the downside, Synthomer tumbled after a downgrade to 'underweight' at Morgan Stanley, while abrdn was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'underweight' by the same outfit.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,166.81 0.62%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,804.53 0.70%
techMARK (TASX) 4,388.71 0.72%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,264.00p 3.05%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 148.00p 2.64%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 112.50p 1.92%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 134.12p 1.84%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,627.00p 1.83%
BT Group (BT.A) 171.40p 1.66%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 10,190.00p 1.60%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,959.50p 1.53%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,671.40p 1.51%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,542.00p 1.50%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,600.00p -1.63%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,511.00p -1.47%
Abrdn (ABDN) 231.00p -1.24%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,785.00p -0.75%
Prudential (PRU) 1,275.50p -0.43%
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,195.00p -0.37%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,346.50p -0.30%
BHP Group (BHP) 2,037.00p -0.22%
Tesco (TSCO) 279.75p -0.12%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,353.50p -0.11%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Clarkson (CKN) 3,885.00p 5.43%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 354.20p 5.17%
Victrex plc (VCT) 2,458.00p 4.42%
FirstGroup (FGP) 97.00p 4.13%
Hammerson (HMSO) 32.59p 3.72%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 231.60p 3.58%
SSP Group (SSPG) 230.10p 3.42%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 488.50p 2.63%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 542.50p 2.55%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,370.00p 2.51%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Synthomer (SYNT) 429.40p -9.60%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 340.70p -3.27%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 392.00p -1.85%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 125.00p -1.57%
Vivo Energy (VVO) 134.20p -1.03%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 277.00p -0.89%
VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 501.00p -0.60%
JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 672.00p -0.59%
Pennon Group (PNN) 1,183.00p -0.59%
AVI Global Trust (AGT) 1,052.00p -0.57%