London close: Stocks finish marginally higher, airlines descend
London stocks closed just above the waterline on Monday, after a choppy session in which investors tried to make sense of the easing of lockdown measures in the UK, while a poor showing in the airline sector weighed.
The FTSE 100 ended the day up 0.06% at 5,939.73, and the FTSE 250 was 0.14% firmer at 16,271.49.
Sterling was weaker against both of its major trading pairs, last falling 0.67% against the dollar to $1.2327 and losing 0.43% on the euro to €1.1399.
Moves on Monday came after Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlined plans on Sunday night for a gradual easing of lockdown restrictions.
In what was criticised by many for being a vague and confused statement, the PM said those who cannot work from home were being actively encouraged" to go back to work.
However, public transport was to be avoided if possible.
In addition, from Wednesday, there will be no restrictions on the amount of time people can spend exercising outdoors.
Driving further afield for walks or days out will be permitted, along with sunbathing and playing sports with members of your household.
Children could start going back to primary school from 1 June, Johnson said.
Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said the easing of lockdown measures would continue to be a tailwind for stock markets as those plans are implemented, assuming that it isn't swiftly followed by another spike in cases and risk of the changes being reversed.
"Fears of a second wave are already emerging in South Korea, China and maybe even Germany which should be a lesson to those countries preparing for looser restrictions,” he said.
“Of course, a rise in cases is unavoidable unless these restrictions remain in place until we have better testing, a vaccine and/or a cure.”
Erlam said the scale is what was important, and would be closely monitored.
“Perhaps it's second phase fears that's weighing a little on stock markets today, although it is a very quiet session in general.”
There wasn’t much in the way of corporate news at the start of the week.
Budget airline easyJet slid 5.91%, and British Airways parent IAG lost 2.89%, amid news the UK will impose a 14-day quarantine on travellers arriving in the country from June.
Citi said in a note that the new quarantine rules might force easyJet into raising £700m to £1bn of capital via an equity issuance.
Diploma gained 4.01% even as it pulled its interim dividend and said April revenue had slumped by more than a quarter amid the coronavirus crisis.
The company said underlying revenues fell 28% last month as it reported a 4% rise in interim pre-tax profits to £41.6m.
Outside of the FTSE 350, Halfords shares jumped 21.69% after the government announced a series of measures to support cycling during and after the Covid-19 crisis.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 5,939.73 0.06%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,271.49 0.14%
techMARK (TASX) 3,623.89 0.17%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,581.50p 5.32%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 496.90p 3.56%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 6,846.00p 2.98%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,914.50p 2.71%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 8,800.00p 2.70%
Ferguson (FERG) 5,840.00p 2.56%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,040.00p 2.49%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 700.50p 2.41%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 2,268.00p 2.35%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,173.00p 2.20%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Centrica (CNA) 36.54p -8.82%
Evraz (EVR) 253.30p -6.19%
easyJet (EZJ) 498.00p -5.91%
Informa (INF) 428.20p -5.15%
Meggitt (MGGT) 244.50p -4.73%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 511.60p -3.92%
3i Group (III) 735.40p -3.87%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 110.45p -3.20%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,606.50p -3.08%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 184.95p -2.89%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 80.00p 11.58%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 27.70p 7.99%
PayPoint (PAY) 744.00p 5.83%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 63.18p 5.05%
Essentra (ESNT) 263.60p 4.85%
PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,190.00p 4.85%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 2,936.00p 4.78%
Coats Group (COA) 44.95p 4.68%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 267.00p 4.52%
Contour Global (GLO) 159.00p 4.52%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Hyve Group (HYVE) 16.40p -12.67%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 88.84p -7.95%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 447.00p -6.27%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 379.80p -6.01%
Senior (SNR) 55.60p -5.68%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 242.20p -5.59%
G4S (GFS) 92.50p -4.91%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 43.10p -4.86%
Investec (INVP) 151.60p -4.80%
IP Group (IPO) 53.50p -4.80%