- FTSE 100 up 0.5%, FTSE 250 also adds 0.5%
- eazyJet jumps on improved winter performance
- Hipgnosis Songs Fund surges on $1.4 billion buyout
April 18 (Reuters) - British stocks moved higher on Thursday, boosted by a string of upbeat corporate updates, while investors awaited comments from Bank of England (BoE) policymaker Megan Greene to gauge the outlook on interest rates.
The resource-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.5% by 0821 GMT, and the FTSE 250 index snapped its five-day losing streak to also gain 0.5%. The pound appreciated by 0.2% against the dollar.
Hipgnosis Songs Fund surged 31.3% to the top of the mid-cap index after Concord Chorus said it would acquire the music investor for $1.4 billion.
"It’s interesting to see the Hipgnosis deal as it supports gradual recovery of animal spirits, M&A coming back and IPOs beginning to come back," Ben Laidler, global markets strategist at eToro said.
"The chunky 32% valuation premium shines light on how cheap the UK has got to right now and that's beginning to attract people to take advantage of those valuations."
Among top movers on the FTSE 100, easyJet shares rose 3.5% after the airline's winter performance improved on growing demand and it said summer bookings were building "well".
National Grid climbed 2.2%, leading gains in the utilities sector, after the energy utility firm upgraded its 2023/24 profit guidance.
Deliveroo climbed 7% after the meal delivery firm returned to order growth in the first quarter.
In contrast, Dunelm Group was the bottom performer on the FTSE 250, dropping 3.8% as the home furnishing retailer missed third-quarter sales estimates.
Rentokil fell 3.1%, the bottom performer on FTSE 100, as the pest control firm announced its first-quarter trading updates.
The broader industrial support services index led sectoral declines, dipping 0.9%.
Later in the day, investors will parse comments from BoE's Greene to gauge the central bank's rate cut outlook.
Greene has taken a hawkish tone in recent comments, warning of inflation risks from the Middle East and pushing back against bets that rate cuts would come quicker than in the United States.
Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Mrigank Dhaniwala
Source: Reuters