UK stocks open 0.4% higher as retails sales bounce

UK stocks opened higher on Friday after retail sales rebounded in May, helping to offset concerns about a second wave of Covid-19 infections.

At 0823, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 22.82 points, or 0.4%, at 6,246.89.

Retail sales rose 12% in May, beating market expectations of a 6.3% improvement.

Engineering services company Wood Group gained 1.1% to 229.19p, even as it said its adjusted earnings had slumped 19% in the first half after the Covid-19 crisis hurt clients in the oil and gas sector.

Wood, however, said the blow had been buffered by resilience in the chemicals and oil-refining sectors.

Mining company Rio Tinto fell 0.6% to £44.76 as it launched a review of its heritage management process, having attracted widespread condemnation for blasting an ancient cave site in Australia held sacred by indigenous people.

Chemicals company Synthomer reversed 0.2% to 282.6p after it priced a €520m bond offering that would help bolster its balance sheet during the Covid-19 crisis.

Building materials group SIG added 0.8% to 33.82p on announcing that would aim to raise £165m from a discounted share issue to help it weather the Covid-19 storm.

New shares in SIG company would be offered at 25p each to investment manager CD&R Sunshine, to raise £60m. The raising also included a placing and open offer at 30p per share, to raise of £105m.

Industrial equipment supplier HC Slingsby jumped 17% to 79p as cost control offset a 3% slide in revenue to boost its earnings in the first five months of the year.

Construction and engineering company Costain shed 0.8% to 76p after it announced that overall activity levels had increased since the beginning of Covid-19 lockdowns and had now stabilised.

Alternative fuels group Velocys was unchanged at 14.65p said it expected to report narrower annual losses after it slashed administrative costs.

Oil company TomCo Energy added 0.3% to 0.76p on news that it had terminated a proposed £1.5m equity placing.