UK stocks closed higher on Monday on increasing optimism over the economy.
After the market close Boris Johnson confirmed people would no longer be instructed to work from home or wear masks. All restrictions would most likely to removed on 19 July, although a final decision will be made on 12 July.
Oil prices were on the rise again with Brent Crude up 1% at $76.79 per barrel after oil cartel OPEC cancelled a planned policy meeting.
At the close the FTSE 100 of leading shares was up 0.6% at 7,165 points while the mid-cap FTSE 250 index gained 1.2% to 23,022 points buoyed by a 11.6% surge in the shares of grocery chain Morrisons (MRW) after a bidding war emerged for the company.
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Higher metals prices pushed shares in Chilean copper producer Antofagasta (ANTO) 0.9% higher to £14.60 while Rio Tinto (RIO) also rose 1.4% to £60.40.
Engineer IMI (IMI) dropped 0.9% to £17.33 after Goldman Sachs cut its recommendation from ‘buy’ to ‘neutral’.
Hipgnosis Songs Fund (SONG), the owner of the rights to artists including Neil Young and Shakira, drifted 0.3% to 122.p despite reporting a jump in annual earnings and raising its dividend.
HydrogenOne Capital Growth said it plans to list on the London stock market to raise £250 million to invest in clean hydrogen projects. The company said it expects to publish a prospectus shortly for the 100p per share offering on the LSE’s premium segment, and to close the issue by end July.
Defence contractor Ultra Electronics (ULE) firmed 3.7% to £23.86 after it said trading in the first half had been ahead of its expectations.
Ultra, in an update for the six months to 2 July, said its order book continued to grow and was significantly ahead of last year.
Franchising group Franchise Brands (FRAN:AIM) dropped 0.3% to 150p despite announcing that it expected to report annual results 'at least' in line with market expectations.
Sales at the company's Metro Rod drainage services unit, it said, had returned to pre-Covid growth levels in the first half.
Data management group Restore (RST:AIM) climbed 2.5% to 400.6p, after it confirmed it would reinstate its dividend for the first half, following a strong second quarter.
Restore said trading continued to strengthen through the first half, with second-quarter performance ahead of its previous expectations.
Technology services group The Panoply (TPX:AIM) gained 2.7% to 290p, despite posting a full-year loss as a 62% jump in revenue was more than offset by expenses.
The Panoply, however, upgraded guidance for the current financial year, saying it expected revenue and operating earnings to be ‘significantly’ ahead of current market forecasts.
A list of FTSE 100 movers can be seen HERE
