LONDON, June 1 — London-listed shares rose more than 1 per cent today as retailers began reopening stores following a months-long coronavirus-led lockdown, with Primark owner pushing ahead to restart business at all of its England shops on June 15.
Associated British Foods, owner of the fashion retailer, rose 3.1 per cent, while the wider retailer index added 1.0 per cent. The blue-chip FTSE 100 jumped 1.3 per cent.
The domestically focussed mid-cap index was also up 1.1 per cent, building on a strong two-month rally that has been powered by hopes the UK economy would rebound from a looming coronavirus-fuelled global recession.
AstraZeneca Plc rose 1.9 per cent and was the biggest boost to the FTSE 100 after its and US drugmaker Merck & Co Inc’s blockbuster cancer drug received a positive recommendation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as a maintenance treatment for a form of pancreatic cancer.
But Ted Baker slumped 23.7 per cent. The fashion brand said it would raise £95 million (RM5008.3 million) through a stock issue to help it ride out the coronavirus crisis, after reporting a loss of 79.9 million pounds for the year to January. — Reuters
