London midday: Stocks maintain gains as BoE keeps rates at record low
London stocks were still in the black by midday on Thursday amid lockdown easing hopes, as investors mulled the latest policy announcement from the Bank of England.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.7% at 5,894.42 after Bank of England policymakers voted unanimously to keep the main interest rate on hold at a record low of 0.1% and 7-2 to leave the £645bn bond-buying programme unchanged. Two members voted to increase the target for the stock of asset purchases by an additional £100bn.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "The headline takeaways are all rather terrifying: a 14% contraction in the UK in 2020 (and a 25% slump in Q2), with unemployment of 9% fast approaching. Globally the central bank is expecting to shrink by 20% in the second quarter.
"Crucially, it did also state that it expects an aggressive rebound in 2021, with growth of as much as 15% in the UK.
"This, combined with the ongoing and prospective lockdown-easing measures around the world - even if the wisdom of such decisions, especially in the US where death is becoming government policy, are questionable - helped the markets tentatively rise after the bell."
In equity markets, RSA Insurance rallied after saying it expects to take a hit of £25m from its exposure to the coronavirus pandemic. This is lower than analysts were expecting, with RBC Capital Markets having estimated an impact of around £60m.
Phoenix Group was also higher as it reiterated that it will pay a final dividend for 2019.
On the downside, BT was the worst performer on the top-flight index as it pulled its dividend due to the pandemic and reported a drop in full-year profit and revenue.
Rolls-Royce was sharply lower after the aerospace and defence giant signalled there are job cuts ahead as it said the commercial aerospace market could take several years to recover from the impact of Covid-19.
British Airways and Iberia owner IAG flew lower after saying it swung to a first-quarter operating loss of €535m. It also warned of a "significantly worse" second quarter due to the pandemic that has grounded most of its fleets.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 5,894.42 0.69%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,197.05 1.34%
techMARK (TASX) 3,593.61 0.56%
FTSE 100 - Risers
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 547.60p 5.67%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 389.00p 5.31%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 596.00p 4.63%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,769.50p 4.33%
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 9,636.00p 3.90%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,480.00p 3.82%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,384.00p 3.67%
Rightmove (RMV) 515.00p 3.56%
Informa (INF) 446.10p 3.48%
SEGRO (SGRO) 820.60p 3.35%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
BT Group (BT.A) 106.05p -7.18%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 280.50p -4.49%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 187.90p -4.45%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,410.00p -3.91%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 95.36p -2.89%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 303.00p -2.35%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,273.50p -2.34%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,895.50p -1.69%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,683.00p -1.66%
3i Group (III) 743.20p -1.54%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Cineworld Group (CINE) 57.50p 8.90%
SSP Group (SSPG) 236.00p 8.56%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 75.40p 7.64%
Grafton Group Units (GFTU) 618.50p 6.36%
Vistry Group (VTY) 809.00p 6.24%
Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 1,278.00p 5.97%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 802.80p 5.80%
Workspace Group (WKP) 759.50p 5.63%
IP Group (IPO) 57.10p 5.35%
IMI (IMI) 818.50p 5.14%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 265.60p -10.30%
Hyve Group (HYVE) 19.64p -8.44%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 46.56p -3.68%
Countryside Properties (CSP) 384.20p -2.68%
Hammerson (HMSO) 49.87p -2.64%
G4S (GFS) 95.32p -2.26%
National Express Group (NEX) 225.20p -2.09%
Polypipe Group (PLP) 472.50p -1.97%
Essentra (ESNT) 258.60p -1.90%
Vivo Energy (VVO) 75.10p -1.83%