Archived article
Please note that tax, investment, pension and ISA rules can change and the information and any views contained in this article may now be inaccurate.
UK stocks continued their momentum throughout Monday to record the sharpest increase since the aftermath to the EU referendum vote.
Buoyed by a 'Boris bounce' thanks to the lifting of political and Brexit uncertainty from the general election result, as well as a trade agreement between the US and China, markets shook off poor PMI data to continue rising throughout the day.
The benchmark FTSE 100 index closed 2.25%, or 165.61 points, higher to 7,519.05.
LARGE AND MID CAP RISERS AND FALLERS
Sports clothing and equipment retailer Sports Direct surged 31.2% to 472p after it posted a large rise in first-half profit, as acquisitions boosted revenue and it booked a one-off gain on the sale of a distribution centre.
The company also guided for 5-15% growth in underlying operating earnings for the full year.
Cinema chain Cineworld gained 1.67% to 210p on announcing that it had agreed to another blockbuster deal -- this time to acquire Canadian counterpart Cineplex for about $2.1bn.
The company last year forked out $3.6bn to acquire the Regal cinema chain in the US.
AstraZeneca jumped 2.45% to £73.94, having agreed to sell the rights to its anti-psychotic drugs in Europe and Russia to Cheplapharm for up to $239m.
Rail and bus concern FirstGroup soared 5.9% in afternoon trading to 125.4p on confirming that it had hired advisors to explore a sale of its North American bus assets.
Water utility Pennon added 4.8% to £10.32 as investors responded positively to a final cost and spending determination from regulatory Ofwat for its South West Water unit, for the period between 2020 and 2025.
Defence contractor group Chemring added 5.5% to 210p after it swung to a slightly better-than-expected annual profit, led by its its sensors & information division.
SMALL CAP RISERS AND FALLERS
Engineering contractor Van Elle gained 9.1% to 43.1p despite guiding that it expected to report a fall in first-half profit, owing to a particularly tough first quarter.
Fulham Shore, the owner of The Real Greek and Franco Manca restaurants, dropped 3.1% to 11.11p as its first-half profit nearly halved as the cost of opening new restaurants offset revenue growth.
Touchstone Exploration surged 48.9% to 20.48p on announcing that it had made a significant crude oil discovery in Trinidad and Tobago.
Retailing group Studio Retail gained 5.45% to 232p as it agreed to sell education unit Findel Education to Wakefield city council for £50m.