London’s FTSE 250 was 4.2% higher at 20,014.70 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.
Recently-battered budget airlines Wizz Air and easyJet, and cruise operator Carnival were all on the front foot as investors grabbed some bargains.
Gold miner Petropavlovsk – which has operations in Russia – also gained amid bargain-hunting, even after it said its supply chain could be disrupted by the Russia-Ukraine war.
Quilter rose after well-received full-year results.
On the downside, gold miners Centamin, Endeavour and Hochschild all lost their shine as gold prices fell back.
Oanda market analyst Craig Erlam said: “We’re seeing a big pullback in precious metals in the middle of the week, in line with the broader rebound we’re seeing in the markets. Gold has slipped back below $2,000, silver is paring gains and platinum and palladium are down more than 6%. It’s clear that hopes of negotiations moving forward are behind the moves, given how much they’ve rallied in recent weeks.
“I just wonder whether it’s all a bit premature. It’s obviously an important first step and could be the kind of concession that gets the ball rolling but that may count for nothing if Russia isn’t in the mood to compromise. We could see these moves quickly reverse at the hint of talks not moving forward.”
FTSE 250 – Risers
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,063.00p 21.69%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 3.50p 16.67%
easyJet (EZJ) 514.00p 14.99%
National Express Group (NEX) 219.40p 13.91%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 142.60p 13.72%
Trainline (TRN) 180.80p 13.71%
Quilter (QLT) 133.25p 13.31%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 1,086.00p 11.73%
Carnival (CCL) 1,220.00p 11.70%
Currys (CURY) 94.15p 11.55%
FTSE 250 – Fallers
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 98.52p -10.23%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,955.00p -6.46%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 137.90p -5.87%
Energean (ENOG) 1,035.00p -5.05%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 314.00p -4.82%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 740.00p -3.65%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 294.20p -3.10%
Chemring Group (CHG) 312.00p -2.50%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 110.20p -2.48%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 179.00p -2.19%
