London open: Stocks rally as Omicron concerns recede

London stocks rallied in early trade on Wednesday amid hopes that Omicron will be less severe than previous Covid variants, although volumes were thin as many traders remained away from their desks until after the new year.

At 0850 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 1.1% at 7,451.76.

Oanda market analyst Jeffrey Halley said: "Although omicron cases in the US and Europe amongst others, continue to surge, it has yet to make its presence felt negatively in economic data. Europe’s restrictions will have a tail impact but, for now, markets are overwhelmingly pricing in the latest variant as a milder incarnation, despite its easier contractibility.

"With market activity much reduced for the holiday season, investors continue to tentatively price in a global recovery hitting a minor bump, and not a pothole."

In equity markets, retailers were on the front foot, with JD Sports and Next among the top risers.

AstraZeneca gained after saying that it and California-based Ionis Pharmaceutical had closed a global development and commercialisation agreement for eplontersen, a medicine used in the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis.

Fresnillo ticked down after it said mill commissioning at its Juanicipio joint venture in Mexico had been delayed by six months as the state electricity company said it could not give the go-ahead for connection to the national power grid due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Anglo American nudged lower after it and Brazil’s Vale started preliminary talks on the potential to jointly develop Vale's Serpentina iron ore resource. The deposit neighbours Anglo American's integrated Minas-Rio iron ore operation in Brazil.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,451.76 1.08%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,607.37 1.45%
techMARK (TASX) 4,611.63 1.36%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 16,255.00p 3.50%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 5,225.00p 2.96%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 217.40p 2.84%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 124.96p 2.75%
Entain (ENT) 1,729.50p 2.70%
Next (NXT) 8,148.00p 2.57%
Electrocomponents (ECM) 1,233.00p 2.32%
Experian (EXPN) 3,654.00p 2.30%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,239.00p 2.28%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,594.00p 2.21%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,825.00p -0.85%
Fresnillo (FRES) 886.20p -0.76%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 145.70p -0.64%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,022.50p -0.59%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,734.00p -0.58%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,287.00p -0.39%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,346.50p -0.15%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 112.38p -0.14%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 158.40p -0.03%
Meggitt (MGGT) 738.80p -0.03%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Trustpilot Group (TRST) 318.60p 6.20%
Darktrace (DARK) 431.20p 4.86%
Auction Technology Group (ATG) 1,502.00p 3.73%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 661.00p 3.69%
Synthomer (SYNT) 404.80p 3.21%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 1,238.00p 3.17%
AJ Bell (AJB) 389.40p 3.12%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 579.50p 3.02%
Savills (SVS) 1,468.00p 3.02%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 236.70p 2.82%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Petropavlovsk (POG) 19.28p -4.08%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 240.90p -2.67%
Carnival (CCL) 1,424.60p -2.58%
VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 515.00p -1.34%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 238.00p -1.24%
Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited NPV (SONG) 126.00p -1.10%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 404.60p -0.78%
888 Holdings (888) 303.20p -0.59%
Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 3,128.00p -0.51%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 305.50p -0.49%