UK stocks hit mid-session highs at midday Monday helped by an upward revision to June’s Purchasing Manager Survey which was slightly higher than the preliminary reading.
Also adding to positive sentiment is an announcement later today by Boris Johnson where he is expected to confirm the relaxing of restrictions on 19 July.
At 12pm the FTSE 100 index of leading shares was 0.4% higher at 7,148 points while the mid-cap FTSE 250 index gained 0.8% to 22,925 points buoyed by a 11.2% surge in the shares of grocery chain Morrisons (MRW) after a bidding war emerged for the company.
COMPANY NEWS
Higher metals prices pushed shares in copper producer Antofagasta (ANTO) 1% higher to £14.62 while Rio Tinto (RIO) also rose 1% to £60.22.
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 0.2% to 122.p despite reporting a jump in annual earnings and raising its guidance for annual dividends.
HydrogenOne Capital Growth said it plans to list on the London stock market to raise £250 million to investing 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 the end of July.
Defence contractor Ultra Electronics (ULE) firmed 2.9% to £23.68 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 2% to 147.5p 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 3% to 403.1p, 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) dipped 0.4% to 281.5p, after 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
