London midday: Stocks extend gains amid hopes of Covid-19 treatment
London stocks had extended gains by midday on Friday despite disappointing Chinese data, as investors pinned their hopes on a potential coronavirus treatment.
The FTSE 100 was up 3.5% at 5,824.45, tracking a broader market rally following a Stat News report that patients being treated for coronavirus in a trial at a Chicago hospital with Gilead Sciences’ investigational antiviral Remdesivir were recovering rapidly from severe symptoms.
Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "A lot of the chatter this morning centres on Gilead Sciences, whose shares leapt 16% in extended trading last night after reports that its antiviral drug Remdesivir was delivering positive results in treating Covid-19 in a University of Chicago trial.
"It’s not actually a vaccine, but anything that can help end lockdowns and get economies moving quickly is a huge positive.
"Gilead remains pretty circumspect on the tests - there are obvious risks in getting carried away at times like these when people will cling to anything offering hope. On the other hand, there are a lot of companies working on cures and vaccines right now - human ingenuity will win in the end."
Investors were also digesting data out of China, which showed the economy shrank for the first time since records began in 1992. GDP contracted by 6.8% in the first three months of the year compared to a 6% expansion the final quarter of last year and coming in worse than consensus expectations for a 6.5% decline.
Other figures showed that China’s industrial output fell 1.1% in March compared to a year earlier, which was better than the 7.3% drop expected. Retail sales were down 15.8% in March versus expectations for a 10% decline, while fixed asset investment slid 16.1% year-on-year compared to expectations of a 15% drop.
In equity markets, gambling group Flutter surged as it said first-quarter revenues had been more resilient than initially expected despite the cancellation of many sports due to the coronavirus pandemic, largely bolstered by the continuation of horse racing in Australia and the US.
InterContinental Hotels and cruise operator Carnival were high risers, while Premier Inn owner Whitbread rallied as it said the Bank of England had agreed to buy its commercial paper if necessary to support the hotel group's liquidity during the Covid-19 crisis.
Wealth manager Brewin Dolphin was in the black even as it posted a drop in second-quarter total funds under management and noted that markets have been hit recently due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Magazine publisher Future surged after its £140m acquisition of TI Media was cleared by the Competition and Markets Authority.
On the downside, private hospital group Mediclinic was in the red as it pulled its dividend and said it sees a hit from the cancellation of non-elective surgery.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 5,824.45 3.48%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 15,889.29 3.32%
techMARK (TASX) 3,495.08 2.76%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Melrose Industries (MRO) 91.74p 11.93%
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 8,726.00p 11.93%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 3,573.00p 11.20%
Carnival (CCL) 956.60p 11.13%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 342.10p 10.68%
Glencore (GLEN) 145.24p 10.33%
ITV (ITV) 73.08p 10.03%
Meggitt (MGGT) 272.50p 9.39%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,797.00p 8.58%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 493.10p 7.01%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,555.50p -2.81%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 7,938.00p -1.19%
Pennon Group (PNN) 1,104.00p -0.94%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,541.50p -0.39%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,341.00p -0.21%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 900.00p -0.02%
NMC Health (NMC) 938.40p 0.00%
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,418.00p 0.23%
Rightmove (RMV) 481.10p 0.54%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,978.50p 0.69%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 246.50p 16.00%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 184.40p 12.30%
Future (FUTR) 1,076.00p 12.20%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,762.00p 11.82%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 57.42p 11.32%
Aggreko (AGK) 473.00p 10.21%
Senior (SNR) 66.00p 9.91%
Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 123.00p 9.82%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 55.00p 8.91%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 702.60p 8.26%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 149.20p -4.60%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 259.80p -2.77%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 125.60p -2.71%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 133.05p -2.38%
FirstGroup (FGP) 61.75p -1.98%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 7,938.00p -1.19%
Workspace Group (WKP) 764.00p -1.10%
Elementis (ELM) 65.40p -1.06%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 71.30p -0.97%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 998.00p -0.80%