London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 7,319.99 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.
ITV was the standout gainer on the index after the broadcaster said it expected advertising revenue to hit new records this year, as the economy opened up after the impact of the Covid pandemic.
Retailers Kingfisher, Primark owner AB Foods and Next were all on the rise after a well-received update from Marks & Spencer, which said annual profits would be ahead of expectations as interim earnings rose above pre-pandemic levels.
Polymetal and Fresnillo shone as gold prices advanced. Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: “Gold has blown past resistance and the path to $1,875 is clear.”
On the downside, Aveva slumped as the software group reported a widening of its first-half losses.
FTSE 100 – Risers
ITV (ITV) 124.55p 13.95%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,461.00p 3.84%
Fresnillo (FRES) 956.00p 3.20%
Kingfisher (KGF) 339.00p 2.54%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,057.00p 2.49%
SSE (SSE) 1,655.00p 2.48%
Next (NXT) 8,212.00p 2.45%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,541.00p 2.39%
Pearson (PSON) 627.00p 2.32%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 1,141.50p 2.24%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,394.00p -3.30%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,940.00p -2.37%
Evraz (EVR) 605.60p -0.92%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,319.00p -0.86%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,503.00p -0.79%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 16,235.00p -0.70%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 5,190.00p -0.57%
Halma (HLMA) 3,008.00p -0.43%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,382.00p -0.42%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,720.50p -0.33%
