LONDON, May 1 — London’s blue chip share index rose today as Sainsbury’s surged following a profit beat and banking group Lloyds climbed after revising its capital guidance.
The main index was 0.3 per cent higher by 0725 GMT, while the midcaps added 0.2 per cent.
Sainsbury’s shares jumped 5.3 per cent, their biggest intraday rise in a year, after the supermarket group’s underlying full-year profit beat market estimates and it said it would accelerate investment in its store estate and technology.
Boosting the index the most was Lloyds as it gained 1.3 per cent after announcing a revised target for its Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio – a closely watched measure of balance sheet strength.
British American Tobacco added 1.1 per cent, following US peers that rose overnight after the Food and Drug Administration permitted the sale of Philip Morris’s tobacco-heating alternative to cigarettes.
Takeaway group Just Eat, however, tumbled 2.5 per cent after JP Morgan said European rivals Delivery Hero and Takeaway.com looked more attractive.
Overall trading volumes were slim as many markets elsewhere in Europe were closed for a May 1 public holiday. — Reuters
