The FTSE 100 and sterling received a boost in the late afternoon on Monday after ministers confirmed that the full reopening of the economy will take place on July 19.
After spending the day in negative territory, the blue chip index rose above Friday’s closing level after Health Minister Sajid Javid told the House of Commons, “We firmly believe this is the right time to bring our nation back to normal To bring life closer. “
After recovering from its lows of 7,067 points, the FTSE 100 closed 3.5 points higher at 7,125.4 points. The pound also rose briefly to $ 1.39 shortly after Mr Javid testified before falling back to $ 1.38.
admiral led the movers after the auto insurer said it was on track to higher-than-expected profit in the first half after fewer car accident claims declined amid pandemic lockdowns.
The rise in earnings offset the impact of a significant drop in premiums over the past 12 months, which meant Admiral was planning an interim dividend of between 110 and 125 pence per share. The stock closed at £ 32.44, 123 pence higher.
Cinema world was the FTSE 250’s biggest loser, down from 4.5p to 73.5p after Mr Javid said wearing masks was still recommended in crowded indoor spaces. This could be an attempt to hold companies accountable to manage any Covid risk for both employees and customers.
To the goal Good energy Shares rose 22.5p to 330p after rejecting a possible offer from major shareholder and rival Ecotricity.
Good Energy, headed by founder Juliet Davenport, said the 340p per share cash approach was “insufficient and profoundly undervalued the group.”
It added, “There is no such thing as a full bonus being offered to shareholders for relinquishing control of their business.”
While the FTSE and pound felt bullish following the government statements, Brent crude was still vulnerable to concerns that the pandemic was not over and new variants could hold back the global economic recovery.
Oil prices fell to $ 74.24 a barrel before rising slightly to $ 75.20 as traders assessed the demand outlook amid a resurgence of the virus in many regions.
The optimism sparked by the introduction of vaccines is now being dampened by the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant and the uncertainty about the offer of the Opec + Alliance due to an ongoing dispute between the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
There are also signs that China’s recovery is slowing. The economy has always been expected to plummet from the highs reached during the initial recovery, but economists say the slowdown came earlier than expected.
Concerns that the road to recovery may not be as easy as some have hoped has added volatility in the stocks of airline stocks that have soared.
Ryanair declined 1.6 percent to € 15.97 (£ 13.67), despite the airline’s announcement that it would hire 2,000 new pilots over the next three years to fly 210 new Boeing 737 Maxs it has ordered.