UK stocks opened higher on Wednesday, buoyed by vaccine and US stimulus optimism together with a raft of positive corporate news.
At 8.45am the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 29 points or 0.4% at 6,545, as gains in insurers and house builders helped offset weakness in oil and mining stocks.
The pound was steady against the dollar at $1.3655, while Brent crude oil prices trod water at $57.80 per barrel and gold also held its ground at $1,835 per ounce.
COMPANY NEWS
Mobile operator Vodafone (VOD) posted a return to growth in service revenue in the third quarter, with a rise in organic revenues of 4%, well ahead of market expectations of a 1% fall.
The company confirmed its guidance for adjusted earnings of between €14.4 billion and €14.6 billion for the year to March, with chief executive Nick Read citing positive momentum across the business, including Germany. Shares were the top performer in the FTSE, climbing 3.7% top 132p.
Shares in leading drug maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) gained 0.8%, to £13.68, after the firm announced it was partnering with CureVac of the US to jointly develop next-generation Covid vaccines.
Glaxo also said it would support the manufacture of up to 100 million doses of CureVac’s first-generation Covid vaccine this year.
Mining group Glencore (GLEN) reported full year production figures for its coal and copper businesses which met market expectations, despite the closure of its Mutanda mine in Congo, and stuck to its production targets for 2021. Shares added 0.7% to 249p.
Games developer and publisher Frontier Developments (FDEV) posted a solid increase in revenues and profits for the first half to the end of November, with gross margins topping 70% thanks to higher sales of own-IP titles and lower distribution costs.
The firm also pointed to a strong second half thanks to the roll-out of its titles on new platforms and a strong sales performance in December, typically the biggest month of the year for video games sales. Shares added 1% to £33.05.
Shares in broadcaster STV Group (STVG) were 4.8% higher at 347p after the company said it had delivered a ‘record-breaking start’ to the year with its streaming channel STV Player.
The firm reported total streams up 115% with online viewing in January double the same level last year as viewers lapped up drama box sets in particular.
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