London open: Stocks gain for eighth session in a row
London stocks rose in early trade on Wednesday, but the gains were muted compared to previous sessions, when markets surged on optimism over a Covid-19 vaccine.
At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 6,307.21. This marked the eighth consecutive day of gains for the index, which rallied sharply on Monday and Tuesday after a Covid vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was shown to be 90% effective.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "This week’s news on a vaccine, while welcome doesn’t change the fact that France, Germany and the UK are still in the middle of partial economic lockdowns, while infection rates in the US have continued to rise, however for now markets appear content to ignore this and are now focussing on the potential green pastures of a post pandemic world, with a workable vaccine.
"Whether this is premature, only time will tell but for now investors appear content to ride this particular wave until it breaks."
In corporate news, defence aerospace group BAE Systems rallied after it said underlying earnings would be slightly higher than forecast as order intake levels moved ahead of original pre-Covid planning.
Flutter Entertainment gained as it upgraded its earnings forecast for business outside the US but said the loss at its American gambling operation would be bigger than expected after it spent to acquire customers.
On the downside, Workspace fell after saying it swung to a loss in the first half, with income hit as customers vacated or downsized due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It also deferred a decision on dividend payments.
Wetherspoons was also weaker after the pub chain reported a sharp drop in sales and boss Tim Martin criticised "regulatory hyperactivity" affecting Britain's pubs.