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London's FTSE 100 inched higher on Friday as battered cyclical shares gained, although there was caution among investors after data showed the UK economy shrank by the most on record in April, while a potential second wave of Covid-19 cases weighed on sentiment.
At 11.42 am, the blue chip benchmark was up 62.43 points, or 1.03%, at 6,139.13.
LARGE AND MID CAP RISERS AND FALLERS
Cruise company Carnival gained 9.6% to £13.04, even as its Holland America division announced further service delays due to the pandemic.
Miniature wargames supplier Games Workshop rallied 10.4% to £78.40 after it forecast a rise in its annual profit for the year through March 2020 to "no less than £85m', up from £81.3m on-year.
Games Workshop also said its recovery since reopening stores had been better than it expected.
Pub group Mitchells & Butlers rallied 8% to 217p on announcing that it would not pay any dividends until the end of the 2021 financial year through September.
The decision, which also included a pause on any share buybacks, was made as part of new lending arrangements to help the company ride out the Covid-19 crisis.
Music rights investor Hipgnosis Songs Fund firmed 1.4% to 112p despite announcing that it was mulling a potential equity raising to help fund a £1bn acquisitions pipeline.
Exhibitions group Informa climbed 8.6% to 472p, even as it forecast lower revenue due to lockdowns forcing event cancellations.
On a more positive note, Informa said some events would go ahead in China.
SMALL CAP RISERS AND FALLERS
Supermarket food supplier Bakkavor firmed 0.9% to 79.5p after the pizzas-to-salads maker assured investors sales volumes have stabilised and are showing early signs of recovery in all markets.
Infrastructure services provider Nexus Infrastructure cheapened 3% to 160p, having announced a discounted equity raising amid a 'severe' impact from the Covid-19 crisis.
New shares in Nexus Infrastructure were issued at 140p each, representing a 15% discount to their closing price on Thursday.
Location software group 1Spatial sparked up 13% to 25.5p as it won a contract from the US state of Michigan worth about $2.6m over five years.
Property investor Warehouse REIT gained 0.5% to 110.5p on securing a 10-year lease renewal with information management services group Iron Mountain at the Stretton Green distribution park in Warrington.
Fellow property investor Stenprop edged 2.3% higher to 111.5p as it held its annual dividend steady, despite its earnings slipping on the back of lower rental income.