London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.9% at 6,885.92 in afternoon trade on Wednesday, with sentiment underpinned by recovery hopes.
Just Eat was the top gainer, with traders suggesting that a strike at rival Deliveroo could be boosting the shares. The union for Deliveroo said earlier that workers are striking in a dispute over pay and conditions.
Socially distanced protests were held in cities including London, York, Sheffield, Reading and Wolverhampton, while supportive action was expected in Australia, France, the Netherlands, Ireland and Spain.
On the downside, Flutter Entertainment lost ground after it confirmed it is in a legal dispute with Fox Corp over its option to buy an 18.6% stake in US sports betting group FanDuel.
Murdoch-owned Fox wants to buy the stake at an $11.2bn valuation, which is the value that was set when Flutter bought a 37.2% stake from Fastball in December. However, Flutter argued that Fox’s position that it has a right to acquire the interest in FanDuel based on that valuation is “incorrect” and that it should pay fair market value.
AstraZeneca was a little weaker after a government adviser said the UK is taking concerns about its Covid-19 vaccine and its potential link to blood clots “very seriously” ahead of expected updates from regulators.
FTSE 100 – Risers
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 7,123.00p 4.44%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 427.10p 3.59%
Persimmon (PSN) 3,194.00p 3.30%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 188.20p 2.93%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,780.00p 2.72%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,595.00p 2.68%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 296.90p 2.66%
M&G (MNG) 219.40p 2.38%
Informa (INF) 583.80p 2.31%
BT Group (BT.A) 156.15p 2.29%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 15,440.00p -1.94%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,250.00p -1.63%
Renishaw (RSW) 6,450.00p -1.15%
Avast (AVST) 460.60p -0.86%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,428.00p -0.66%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,373.00p -0.59%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 7,147.00p -0.50%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 11,685.00p -0.47%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,833.00p -0.41%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,486.00p -0.40%
