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(Alliance News) - Covid-19 vaccine optimism and some hefty merger-and-acquisition deals in Japan and the US helped to boost London stocks at the open on Monday.
The FTSE 100 index was up 40.86 points, or 0.7%, at 6,072.95 early Monday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 79.95 points, or 0.5%, at 17,635.82. The AIM All-Share index was up 0.5% at 959.16.
The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.4% at 604.50. The Cboe 250 was up 0.3% at 15,029.02 but the Cboe Small Companies down 0.1% at 9,520.08.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt were both up 0.8% early Monday.
"Progressive news around a potential coronavirus vaccine has led to some positivity returning back to financial markets, with almost all major equity indices trading higher on the day in Asia," commented Lloyds Bank.
In Asia on Monday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.7%. Against the yen, the dollar was lower, quoted at JPY106.03 versus JPY106.18.
In China, the Shanghai Composite ended up 0.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 0.7% in late trade.
AstraZeneca on Saturday said that it has resumed clinical trials in the UK of its Covid-19 vaccine after a green light from the country's Medicines Health Regulatory Authority.
Earlier in September, the company paused the vaccine trials across the world after a UK volunteer developed an unexplained illness. The drugs company is developing the coronavirus vaccine, AZD1222, alongside Oxford University.
"The company will continue to work with health authorities across the world and be guided as to when other clinical trials can resume to provide the vaccine broadly, equitably and at no profit during this pandemic," AstraZeneca said on Saturday.
AstraZeneca's vaccine candidate is one of nine around the world currently in late-stage phase 3 human trials. On Thursday last week, AstraZeneca Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said at a media event that a Covid-19 vaccine could still be available by as early as the year end, despite the clinical trial's pause.
AstraZeneca shares were up 0.6% in early dealings on Monday in London.
Elsewhere in London, BP shares rose 1.8% after Credit Suisse raised the oil major to Outperform from Neutral.
JD Wetherspoon edged down 1.2%. The pub operator said it has had around 32 million customer visits to its 861 open pubs since the 10 weeks since reopening on July 4.
However, it noted that "trade was very quiet over the weekend" ahead of the new virus rules in England restricting meet ups to groups of six or less.
"The situation with regard to pubs has been widely misunderstood...In fact, trade was very quiet over the weekend, as the public weighed up the evidence about the alleged dangers of going out - Wetherspoon sales were 22.5% below the equivalent Saturday last year," said Wetherspoon Chair Tim Martin.
On AIM, Burford Capital rose 5.2% after saying the US Securities & Exchange Commission continues to review its registration statement, as the litigation finance firm eyes a listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
Assuming SEC approval, the NYSE has approved Burford's shares for listing. On the SEC approval, Burford shares will trade both in New York and in London.
In corporate news outside of London, Japan's SoftBank Group Corp said it is selling British chip designer Arm to US chip company NVIDIA for up to USD40 billion, potentially creating a new giant in the industry.
If approved, the deal will be one of the largest acquisitions anywhere in the world this year, and will propel NVIDIA to the forefront of the semiconductor sector. The announcement also renewed speculation about SoftBank Group's future, with Bloomberg News reporting it is set to revive talks about going private via a management buyout plan.
Softbank shares closed up 9.0% in Tokyo.
Meanwhile, US pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences confirmed Sunday that it is buying American biotech firm Immunomedics, which makes a breast cancer drug, for USD21 billion.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.2824 early Monday, higher than USD1.2783 at the London equities close on Friday.
The coronavirus "rule of six" came into force in England on Monday, meaning any social gatherings of more than six people will break the law.
People face fines of up to GBP3,200 if they do not abide by the new measure, which applies to both indoor and outdoor settings and follows a rapid increase in the number of daily positive cases.
More than 3,000 Covid-19 cases were recorded in the UK for the third day in a row on Sunday – the first time since May that cases were above 3,000 on three consecutive days.
Meanwhile, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told citizens the country was already facing "the beginning of the second wave" as new daily infections climbed towards 1,000.
France reported 10,000 new infections Saturday, close to the peak of the first wave in April. Prime Minister Jean Castex declined to announce any new major restrictions Friday despite noting a "clear worsening" in the country's outbreak.
The euro traded at USD1.1852 early Monday, firm on USD1.1836 late Friday.
Back in the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's former attorney general, Geoffrey Cox, has said it would be "unconscionable" to override the Brexit divorce deal, as the Tory rebellion against the controversial legislation grew.
Cox warned he would not back the UK Internal Market Bill unless ministers dispel the impression they plan to "permanently and unilaterally" rewrite an international agreement.
His intervention came ahead of MPs debating the legislation on Monday, when the Bill returns to the Commons amid growing criticism that breaching international law would jeopardise the UK's standing in the world.
Gold was quoted at USD1,946.40 an ounce early Monday, down from USD1,950.07 on Friday. Brent oil was trading at USD39.90 a barrel, lower than USD40.22 late Friday.
The economic events calendar on Monday has eurozone industrial production figures at 1000 BST.
By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com
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