The FTSE 100 fluctuated above and below the 6,000 mark during volatile early trading on Friday morning, falling 0.21% to 6,000.91 by 9am, despite data showing UK retail sales rose above pre-pandemic levels in July and beat market expectations.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said retail sales grew by 3.6% in July, though it this was not as big as the 12% rise seen in May and 13.9% jump seen in June.
But it beat market expectations for a 2% monthly rise. On an annual basis UK retail sales were up 1.4% in July, having decreased 1.6% in June, again beating market consensus for zero growth in July on an annual basis.
Despite the strong data, investor wariness over a resurgence of coronavirus cases in Europe continues to weigh on sentiment, particularly after France reported 4,771 cases on Thursday, up a thousand on Wednesday’s figures and the highest number of cases seen since May.
Spain, Germany and Italy have also reported their highest number of cases since late April or early May.
One small area of optimism however was airline stocks, which gained after the UK Government added Portugal to its list of travel corridors.
Budget airline EasyJet (EZJ) was the biggest early gainer, rising 3.1% to 571p, with rival Ryanair (RYA) rising 1.53% to €11.30 and British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) edging 0.92% higher to 192.25p. Tour operator TUI (TUI) gained 2.2% to 300p.
In company news, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZN) dipped 0.7% to £84.91, despite news that its drug to treat patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer gained approval in Japan.
FTSE 250 investment trust HG Capital Trust (HGT) climbed 4.4% to 261.5p on announcing that it would pour about £17.1 million into Norwegian enterprise software company Visma.
Cleaning products group Tristel (TSTL:AIM) sparked up 6.2% to 504.2p after its Duo disinfectants were approved for the decontamination of semi-critical medical devices by authorities in India.
Disease test-kit supplier Omega Diagnostics (ODX:AIM) rose 6% to 61.45p, having received World Health Organisation pre-qualification for its Visitect CD4 test for HIV.
Embattled logistics group Eddie Stobart (ESL:AIM) jumped 11% to 8.4p on a rare piece of good news, after it announced that it had secured a three-year contract from supermarket giant Morrisons (MRW) to provide transportation services from two distribution centres.
Alternative energy company Simec Atlantis Energy (SAE:AIM) leapt 15% to 20.35p after it agreed to source £170 million of debt from South Korea’s Hana Financial Investment.
The debt would fund the first phase of the company’s Uskmouth project in Wales, which would convert a coal-fired power plant into one fed by waste-derived fuel pellets.
Engineering company 600 Group (SIXH:AIM) firmed 1.3% to 8.1p as it announced its order book had begun to recover after lockdown restrictions began to ease.
The company also secured a £1.2 million ($1.6 million) loan backed by the UK Government via HSBC to help it weather the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
RNA therapeutics developer Silence Therapeutics (SLN:AIM) fell 0.65% to 458p on announcing that it had filed for a proposed listing of American depositary shares on the Nasdaq.
Oncology, inflammation and infectious diseases focused Tiziana Life Sciences (TILS:AIM) rallied 8.3% to 170p, having been granted a patent in the US related to its Milciclib treatment for cancer.
Superyacht maintenance company GYG (GYG:AIM) gained 7.7% to 83.5p on guiding for higher core first-half earnings, as margin improvements through restructuring offset a fall in revenue.
