London midday: FTSE gains as travel and hospitality shares rally

London stocks had edged a little higher by midday on Thursday, with travel and hospitality issues pacing the advance as worries about the Omicron variant eased, although volumes were light as we head into the Christmas break.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 7,362.61after Health Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed that no further restrictions will be announced in England before Christmas and said there were no plans for any further announcements this week.

According to a new study by Imperial College, people with a PCR-confirmed case of Omicron are 40-45% less likely to end up in hospital. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is due to report its findings on Omicron later in the day.

Danske Bank said: "Markets are heading into Christmas in a positive spirit after studies give encouraging signals that omicron might be less dangerous than the delta variant. A more infectious but a less dangerous variant has the potential to eventually bring the pandemic to an end as herd immunity could be reached more broadly without overwhelming hospital systems.

"From an economy's viewpoint, a scenario like this would imply less need for severe restrictions and more normal economic activity leading to an eventual easing in supply-side bottlenecks as well as a normalisation in consumption patterns."

In equity markets, travel and hospitality stocks were the best performers amid relief there will be no further restrictions for now. British Airways and Iberia parent IAG was up, along with engine maker Rolls-Royce, Premier Inn owner Whitbread, GKN owner Melrose and InterContinental Hotels.

On the FTSE 250, Mitchells & Butlers, easyJet, WH Smith, Wizz Air, SSP, Tui and Wetherspoons all gained.

Bookmaker Flutter Entertainment advanced after it announced the acquisition of Italian online gaming operator Sisal from CVC Capital Partners Fund VI for €1.91bn in cash.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,362.61 0.29%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,258.84 0.77%
techMARK (TASX) 4,549.46 0.38%

FTSE 100 - Risers

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 146.66p 4.06%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 122.04p 3.16%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,034.00p 3.02%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 11,580.00p 2.52%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,660.00p 2.37%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 157.80p 2.13%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,771.00p 2.10%
M&G (MNG) 198.80p 2.00%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 581.40p 1.93%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 440.20p 1.75%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Evraz (EVR) 596.40p -3.06%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,732.50p -2.34%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 5,100.00p -1.73%
Croda International (CRDA) 9,808.00p -1.43%
Avast (AVST) 608.00p -1.27%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,536.00p -0.90%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,626.00p -0.85%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 718.60p -0.72%
Rightmove (RMV) 778.80p -0.71%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,611.50p -0.71%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 249.60p 4.61%
easyJet (EZJ) 559.00p 4.21%
National Express Group (NEX) 252.00p 3.96%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,490.00p 3.69%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 4,380.00p 3.64%
Hammerson (HMSO) 33.63p 3.45%
IWG (IWG) 288.60p 3.33%
SSP Group (SSPG) 247.70p 3.24%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 241.30p 2.94%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 921.50p 2.91%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Reach (RCH) 268.00p -3.96%
Capricorn Energy (CNE) 186.00p -2.31%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 185.60p -1.46%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 463.40p -1.19%
Renishaw (RSW) 4,812.00p -0.95%
Computacenter (CCC) 2,844.00p -0.91%
Darktrace (DARK) 422.40p -0.85%
Future (FUTR) 3,666.00p -0.81%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 748.00p -0.73%
Contour Global (GLO) 191.40p -0.73%