UK stocks accelerate early gains at midday

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UK stocks added to early gains on Tuesday, recouping a portion of Monday's devastating losses, as expectations grew that global central banks will act to buffer economic damage caused by the spreading coronavirus.

At 12:00, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 3.3%, at 6,163.14 points.

Defence contractor Ultra Electronics rallied 10.8% to £21.1 as it more than doubled its annual profit and raised its dividend 5%, having won new contracts, particularly in North America.

Pizza delivery chain Domino's Pizza rose 7.8% to 307p on news that it had appointed Matt Shattock as its new chairman.

Shattock was chairman of Beam Suntory, a role he had held since April 2019.

Digital education services provider Learning Technologies gained 5.9% to 136.6p, having agreed to acquire Open LMS from Blackboard for $31.7m.

Wealth manager Standard Life Aberdeen added 5% to 252p, even as it posted a 10% fall in adjusted annual profit, after net outflows from its funds sapped it of fee revenue.

Standard Life Aberdeen said the outlook for markets and the wealth management industry in 2020 was 'turbulent', given additional complexity created by coronavirus.

Engineering company Wood Group, which is heavily exposed to oil markets, jumped 5% higher to 285.5p, as it swung to a full-year profit and bumped up its dividend 1%.

Publishing company Informa gained 4.3% to 588.4p after it reported a rise in profit, with revenue boosted by its merger with UBM and favourable currency moves.

Informa did, however, warn the coronavirus would affect its events-related businesses.

Video games developer Team17 added 3% to 530p as it more than doubled its annual profit, after it released seven new games in 2019 and also boosted sales of third-party titles.

Inter-dealer broker TP ICAP gained 2.8% to 363.6p, on booking a 50% rise in annual profit following the completion of a three-year merger integration programme.

TP ICAP also warned of an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop as the coronavirus spreads.

Fund manager M&G, which was recently spun out of insurer Prudential, added 2% to 175.9p, as it posted a fall in adjusted annual profit, having experienced net outflows from its funds.

Auto dealer Marshall Motor reversed 2.4% to 140p, having posted a fall in annual adjusted profit as 'challenging' market conditions put pressure on its margins.

Oil producer Cairn Energy added to Monday's heavy losses, falling a further 2.8% to 82.9p, despite reporting a full-year profit on the back of higher production and revenue.

Struggling apparel retailer French Connection said its annual results fell short of expectations despite reporting narrower losses as revenue continued to fall amid a gloomy backdrop for retailers on the UK High Street. Its shares were pummelled 23% to 14.3p.