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FTSE 100 rallies, TUI shares jump 10% on bookings optimism
Recession jitters ahead of a hotly-anticipated report on the state of the US jobs market failed to keep investors on the sidelines today.
The FTSE 100 index rose by a better-than-expected 35.85 points to 7698.79, even though the usually market-moving non-farm payrolls report is out tomorrow and is likely to provide a big steer on whether US policymakers can pause interest rate hikes.
Wall Street is now 50-50 on whether the Federal Reserve’s May meeting will see another rise after this week’s economic updates added to America’s recession fears.
London traders will have to wait until Tuesday to react to the US jobs report, but the delay failed to prevent them taking new positions as stocks including BT Group and Barclays rallied by 2%. Betting company Entain topped the risers board, up 27.5p to 1281.5p.
The FTSE 250 index also improved 43.46 points to 18,644.88, led by a big jump for travel company TUI after it reported encouraging booking trends ahead of the Easter holiday.
Chief executive Sebastian Ebel said: “We anticipate capacities to be close to pre-pandemic levels, we expect a good summer 2023.”
Shares surged 10% or 56.4p to 613.6p.
Ukraine-based iron ore pellet producer Ferrexpo also lifted 6p to 116.6p after it reported that output doubled in the first quarter, reflecting the restart of a second pelletiser line as electricity supplies improved.
Elsewhere, THG shares got a much-needed boost as the e-commerce company’s Ingenuity platform unveiled a major client win that will see it provide website services for the AllBeauty.com and Fragrance Direct brands of retailer Maximo.
The 10-year partnership is expected to mean an additional £150 million a year of merchandise value. Broker Liberum said: “This is a positive sign which shows that the shift in Ingenuity strategy to focus on bigger clients is starting to bear fruit.”
THG shares rose 2.5p to 66.2p, still a far cry from the 500p seen when the Hut Group business founded by entrepreneur Matt Moulding joined the stock market in 2020.
On AIM, Gear4Music shares fell 5.5p to 82.5p after it said cost-of-living pressures had caused customers to defer spending on discretionary items such as musical instruments.
The weaker demand during February and March means earnings for the year just ended will now be between £7.3 million and £7.7 million, down from £11 million the year before.
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