London midday: FTSE a little higher as Rolls-Royce, oil majors rally
London stocks were off earlier highs but still in the black by midday on Monday, with engine maker Rolls-Royce charging ahead after a contract win.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,066.18.
IG market analyst Chris Beauchamp said: "The new week has started in a very different fashion to the last one, indices having staged an impressive recovery from last Tuesday’s lows. China worries seem to have evaporated, or at least have dimmed in importance, and with the US once again talking about an infrastructure bill we seem to have a welcome return to some of the old themes that proved so fruitful for equity markets in the first half of the year."
In equity markets, Rolls-Royce was the standout gainer after the aerospace engineer won a £1.9bn deal to supply parts for the US Air Force’s (USAF) fleet of B-52 bombers for the next 30 years.
Beauchamp said: "Rolls continues to remain popular with retail investors who see in it an ideal way of playing the rebound in travel and the global economy more broadly; this has come despite months of poor share price performance, but it looks like this particular value trade has been given a real boost this morning, rallying to eighteen-month highs."
Elsewhere, Shell and BP gushed higher as oil prices rose to a near three-year high.
Prudential gained after it raised $2.4bn from its raising in Hong Kong after offering new shares in the company at HK$143.80 (£13.51) each.
Cineworld was the standout performer on the FTSE 250, up more than 11% as the latest Bond film was due to hit cinemas this week. Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter said the return of Bond to the screens appears to have been the agent of change movie companies sorely needed.
"Business was severely shaken during the pandemic with screens shut and blockbusters delayed and there are early indications that Bond is already helping stir up a surge in much needed bookings," she said.
IWG rallied after Sky News reported over the weekend that the serviced offices company was exploring a multibillion pound break-up that would involve splitting it into several distinct companies.
Petrofac shares rocketed after the oilfield services firm looked to draw a line under a bribery probe by striking a deal with the Serious Fraud Office.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,066.18 0.21%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,641.08 0.14%
techMARK (TASX) 4,707.65 -0.21%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 144.68p 9.19%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 183.76p 4.65%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,539.50p 3.81%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,576.40p 3.14%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,573.80p 2.92%
BT Group (BT.A) 162.70p 2.68%
BP (BP.) 328.60p 2.62%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,928.00p 2.44%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,889.00p 2.09%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,440.00p 1.99%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Halma (HLMA) 2,942.00p -3.41%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,682.00p -3.14%
Croda International (CRDA) 8,578.00p -2.96%
Experian (EXPN) 3,199.00p -2.50%
Rightmove (RMV) 701.20p -2.45%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 422.70p -2.36%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 596.80p -2.36%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 15,630.00p -2.31%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 578.60p -2.26%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,941.00p -2.09%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Cineworld Group (CINE) 79.92p 11.74%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 232.00p 6.42%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 5,446.00p 6.28%
IWG (IWG) 301.90p 5.30%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,795.50p 4.88%
easyJet (EZJ) 712.60p 4.70%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 114.00p 4.59%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 360.20p 4.53%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 215.50p 4.26%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 233.00p 4.11%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
888 Holdings (888) 434.60p -5.11%
Darktrace (DARK) 863.50p -5.01%
Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) 2,135.00p -3.61%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 4,994.00p -3.40%
Volution Group (FAN) 521.00p -3.34%
IMI (IMI) 1,760.00p -3.30%
Reach (RCH) 362.50p -3.20%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 1,514.00p -2.95%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 10,550.00p -2.85%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 311.50p -2.66%