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(Alliance News) - Stocks in London were continuing the strong start to 2021 on Thursday, turning a blind eye to chaotic scenes in the US on Wednesday, which saw loyalists storm the Capitol angry at President Donald Trump's election defeat.
In extraordinary images, armed security personnel were seen barricading the chamber with weapons drawn, while lawmakers huddled inside wearing gas masks.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 15.10 points, or 0.2%, at 6,856.96. The mid-cap FTSE 250 ended up 36.70 points, or 0.2%, at 21,009.86. The AIM All-Share closed flat at 1,172.79.
The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.3% at 684.42, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.1% at 18,322.22 and the Cboe Small Companies ended up 1.3% at 12,083.75.
In Paris the CAC 40 ended 0.9%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt ended 0.6%.
"The new year is off to an incredible start with events on Capitol Hill last night highlighting just how big a job Joe Biden has in bringing the country back together again. We've become quite de-sensitized to what would once be considered outrageous in recent years but what we saw in Washington on Wednesday was truly shocking," said Oanda Markets analyst Craig Erlam. "But with the election results now ratified after an extended joint session and Trump's support waning among his allies, things may be looking up ahead of the inauguration in less than two weeks."
On the London Stock Exchange, J Sainsbury ended the best blue chip performer, up 6.9% after the supermarket chain reported sales growth in its third quarter and said it is on track to beat its previous profit guidance.
For its financial year ending March, Sainsbury's expects underlying pretax profit of at least GBP330 million, meaning a potential 44% fall from GBP586 million in financial 2020 but beating previous expectations for at least GBP270 million, as announced in early December.
This followed its decision to forego business rates relief of GP410 million.
Sainsbury's said like-for-like sales in the nine weeks to January 2 - so including the key festive period - were up 9.3% year-on-year.
For the whole of its third-quarter, like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, climbed 8.6%. Including fuel, like-for-like sales were up a more modest 3.2%.
Sales hikes were reported across the board, with total grocery sales up 7.4%, general merchandise sales climbing 6.0%, and clothing sales up 0.4%. Total retail sales excluding fuel were up 6.8%. Including fuel, where sales fell 29%, total retail sales were up 1.7% for the third quarter.
Sainsbury's noted that online grocery sales more than doubled, accounting for 18% of grocery sales.
At the other end of the large caps, British Land ended the worst performer, down 4.5%, after the stock went ex-dividend - meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the latest payout.
In the FTSE 250, FirstGroup ended the standout performer, up 13%, after Sky News reported that EQT Infrastructure joined the race to acquire the transport operator's US operations.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3565 at the London equities close, marginally lower from USD1.3570 at the close Wednesday.
On the economic front, the UK's construction sector posted another month of growth in December, IHS Markit said.
The headline seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS UK construction total activity index reading was 54.6 points in December, narrowly below 54.7 from November but still well above the 50.0 no-change threshold.
The euro stood at USD1.2274 at the European equities close, flat from USD1.2275 late Wednesday.
The eurozone stayed in deflationary territory in December, according to Eurostat estimates, and separate data showed the single-currency area's retail sales tumbled in November.
More promisingly, European Commission data showed consumer confidence in the eurozone improved in December, with the economic sentiment indicator also rising.
According to preliminary data from Eurostat, consumer prices in the euro area fell 0.3% annually in December. Though in line with November's decline, just a 0.2% slip was expected, according to market forecasts cited by FXStreet.
Separate data from Eurostat showed eurozone retail sales plunged to a greater extent than expected in November.
Month-to-month, retail sales fell 6.1% in the eurozone, following a 1.4% rise in October. FXStreet cited consensus forecast just a 3.4% monthly decline in November.
Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY103.80, up from JPY103.37 late Wednesday.
Stocks in New York were continuing their record-setting run after Congress formally certified President-elect Joe Biden's election victory hours, shrugging off a siege of the US Capitol by supporters of outgoing President Trump.
The DJIA was up 1.1%, the S&P 500 index up 1.5% and the Nasdaq Composite up 2.3%.
Lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives worked through the night and early Thursday morning successfully beat back Republican challenges, as the chambers tried to project a sense of normalcy after the extraordinary occupation only hours earlier.
Equities, which had largely shrugged off Wednesday's unrest, continued to push higher early Thursday as markets anticipate Trump's departure in two weeks.
Sentiment was also boosted by the greater likelihood of more fiscal stimulus after Democrats swept the two Senate runoff elections in Georgia on Tuesday.
On the economic front, the US Labor Department reported 787,000 new unemployment claims last week, the latest sign that layoffs remain elevated amid a resurgence of coronavirus cases. The data comes ahead of Friday's closely-watched monthly jobs report.
Brent oil was quoted at USD54.51 a barrel at the equities close, up from USD54.22 at the close Wednesday.
Gold was quoted at USD1,914.89 an ounce at the London equities close, higher against USD1,907.65 late Wednesday.
The economic events calendar on Friday has UK Halifax house price index figures at 0830 GMT, eurozone unemployment data at 1000 GMT and the US jobs report at 1330 GMT.
The UK corporate calendar on Friday has a trading statement from clothing, food and homeware retailer Marks & Spencer.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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