London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 7,241.59 in afternoon trade on Friday.
British Airways and Iberia owner IAG was the top performer after the government said fully vaccinated passengers and children arriving in England from non-red list countries can take a lateral flow test from 24 October, instead of the more expensive PCR tests.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “That could lead to a rush of last-minute bookings for half-term travel, thereby benefiting airline earnings. The sector needs all the help it can get as it is one of the last industries still waiting to play catch-up with earnings following the pandemic.”
Chilean copper miner Antofagasta was also up after RBC Capital Markets upgraded the stock to ‘sector perform’ from ‘underperform’ and lifted the price target to 1,350p from 1,150p.
Royal Dutch Shell and BP rallied as Brent crude hit a new three-year high. BP was given the added boosted of an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Berenberg.
Education publisher Pearson fell as it reported a rise in revenues as growth in assessment and qualifications offset lower US higher education enrolments due to Covid-19 infections.
FTSE 100 – Risers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 182.86p 3.22%
Evraz (EVR) 613.20p 3.06%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,777.50p 2.63%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 435.15p 2.15%
Barclays (BARC) 198.28p 2.00%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,504.00p 1.90%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 494.30p 1.83%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,875.00p 1.77%
Royal Dutch Shell ‘B’ (RDSB) 1,792.00p 1.76%
BP (BP.) 363.40p 1.59%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Pearson (PSON) 636.20p -12.73%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,614.00p -2.28%
Informa (INF) 550.00p -2.20%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,321.50p -2.04%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,873.50p -1.83%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 980.80p -1.82%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,342.00p -1.39%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,419.00p -1.36%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,829.00p -1.31%
Fresnillo (FRES) 835.40p -1.28%
