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 opened higher on Monday as investors embraced moves by governments around the world to ease Covid-19 lockdown measures.
At 0824, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 53.83 points, or 0.9%, at 5.989.81.
Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca rose 0.3% to £85.87 after an ovarian cancer treatment it developed with Merck was approved for use in the US.
Plastics manufacturer Victrex shed 0.9% to £19.56 as it booked a 1% fall in first-half profit and scrapped its interim dividend after rising sales were offset by margin pressure.
Victrex said it had made a 'solid start' to the second half, but was seeing 'emerging headwinds' in its forward order book due to the Covid-19 crisis.
Healthcare facility investor Primary Health Properties rose 0.5% to 157.8p, having acquired a portfolio of 20 medical centres in England and Wales for £47.1m and reporting 'robust' rent collection across its portfolio.
Automotive fluid system supplier TI Fluid Systems gained 1.3% to 172.8p on announcing that it would pay its 2019 final dividend as planned, despite its revenue slipping in the first quarter.
Funeral operator Dignity added 0.4% to 235p, even as it reported a fall in profit that it pinned on operational impacts from the Covid-19 crisis.
Dignity is also expecting a rise in deaths related to the respiratory disease to keep it busy this year.
Cream cakes retailer Cake Box puffed 3.4% higher to 157.75p on announcing that it expected to have all its high-street shops open by early June.
Consultancy company Science Group slid 2.4% to 200p, having decided to not recommend a dividend at its upcoming annual general meeting.
Science Group said payment of an interim dividend would be considered later in the year if appropriate.
Regenerative medicine company Tissue Regenix rallied 33% to 0.9p on news that it had inked a manufacturing pact to develop a new product line that addresses orthopaedic soft tissue repairs.
Property investor RDI REIT eased back 0.1% to 51.84p as it swung to a first-half loss and scrapped its interim dividend amid falls in rental income and the market value of its portfolio.
Marketing services group XLMedia added 2.9% to 24.7p, on announcing that it would reduce its headcount as part of a strategy overhaul.
XL Media did not specify how many jobs would be cut, only saying that the measures were expected to generated more than $5m of annualised savings.