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* UK PM Johnson says pubs, restaurants and hotels to reopen
* Britain's coronavirus slump tapers off in June - PMIs
* Financial, energy, mining stocks among top gainers
* Home builders, Hikma among biggest decliners
* FTSE 100 up 1.2%, FTSE 250 adds 0.5%
(Updates after PM's reopening strategy, adds June PMI details,
comment, closing prices)
By Susan Mathew
June 23 (Reuters) - London shares rose on Tuesday as Prime
Minister Boris Johnson took more steps to relax the country's
coronavirus lockdown, while a smaller than expected decline in
Britain's private sector raised hopes for the economy's recovery
from a pandemic-induced slump.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed up 1.2%, boosted by
financial, energy and mining stocks. The mid-cap FTSE 250
ended 0.5% higher, but cut some session gains as home
builders weighed.
The moves were in-line with global markets which cheered
confirmation that the U.S.-China trade pact was "fully intact",
after earlier confusing statements from the White House.
Declining pace of contraction in U.S. business activity and
similar data from the euro zone further bolstered
sentiment.
In the next stage of relaxing a nationwide shutdown, pubs,
restaurants and hotels can reopen in England early next month,
with a rule on social distancing reduced from two metres to one
metre-plus, PM Johnson said.
The economy has already started to reflect benefits of
easing lockdowns and is set to return to growth from next month
IHS Markit/CIPS flash composite PMI showed. The index, which
measures activity in the services sector and manufacturing,
jumped to 47.6 in June from 30.0 in May.
But the data point masks a much slower recovery, warned
James Smith, developed markets economist at ING.
"Judging by other measures of activity, we suspect the size
of the UK economy will still be 15-20% smaller at the end of the
second quarter than it was pre-virus. We don't expect a full
recovery until 2022 at the earliest."
A raft of global stimulus and the easing of
coronavirus-induced lockdowns have powered the FTSE 100
following its crash to an eight-year low in March, with the
export-heavy index now only down about 16% on the year.
Among individual stocks, Hikma Pharmaceuticals
slumped 5.6% on news that Boehringer Ingelheim, a major
shareholder in the drugmaker, was selling most of its nearly
1-billion-pound ($1.25 billion) stake.
(Reporting by Shashank Nayar and Sagarika Jaisinghani in
Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V and Jane Merriman)
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK)
