Shopping frenzy helps to keep Footsie above 7000

THE FTSE 100 managed to stay above 7000 as a shopping bounce lifted shares in major retailers.

Britons were out spending with a vengeance last week when nonessential stores were allowed to reopen in England and Wales, according to data group Springboard, with footfall across the UK up by almost 90pc compared with the previous seven days.

The encouraging numbers were a relief for City analysts concerned that online shopping and new savings habits might have dampened enthusiasm for returning to stores.

Primark-owner Associated British Foods surged 1.3pc, or 32p, to 2460p, as investors also snapped up shares ahead of the release of half-year results today.

B&Q owner Kingfisher ( up 1.5pc, or 5.4p, to 360.7p) and budget chain B&M (up 1.8pc, or 10p, to 568.6p) were among the big winners yesterday – as even though they had been able to open during the most recent lockdown they are likely to be welcoming more people now.

Though it was supermarkets Sainsbury’s (up 2.4pc, or 6p, to 254.7p) and Ocado (up 2.1pc, or 45p, to 2226p) that led the charge on the blue-chip index.

The rises all helped the Footsie cling onto most of the gains it made last week, when it edged above the psychologically important 7000-mark for the first time since the pandemic struck. It closed down 0.3pc, or 19.45 points last night, but finished at 7000.08.

The effect of the latest round of reopenings also boosted Marks & Spencer (up 3.6pc, or 5.6p, to 162.1p) and train station cafe group SSP (up 3.2pc, or 9.6p, to 312.6p), which is benefiting from the return of non-essential travel.

But the wider mid-cap FTSE 250 index closed down 0.1pc, or 31.32 points, to 22490.86.

And it was a mixed reception for pub and restaurant chains.

Shares in All Bar One owner Mitchells & Butlers (down 0.5pc, or 1.6p, to 308.6p) and Wetherspoons (down 1.5pc, or 21p, to 1363p) lost their fizz, despite the sunny weekend and a scramble to book pub tables all over the nation.

But Marston’s ( up 0.6pc, or 0.55p, to 97.05p), Fuller’s (up 2.2pc, or 20p, to 922p) and Wagamama operator The Restaurant Group ( up 0.7pc, or 0.8p, to 124.6p) were all in demand.

Any uplift from the weekend for cider and beer maker C&C, on the other hand, was washed out by the announcement that one of its subsidiaries, drinks supplier Matthew Clark Bibendum, had suffered a cyber attack.

C&C, whose brands include the popular cider Magners, said it became aware of the incident on Friday and swiftly shut down all the connected IT systems.

But shares fell 0.9pc, or 2.6p, to 279.6p, even as it said the attack had not affected the rest of the group. Investors were also wary of plans by the group formerly known as Stobart to sell off its airline business and one of its airports.

Esken dropped 0.7pc, or 0.25p, to 35.2p after it said it was in ‘advanced talks’ to sell its stake in Stobart Air to Ettyl, a company based in the Isle of Man. Esken has been eyeing an exit from the airline – which it bought back from bankruptcy last April – for some time but the pair are also discussing a deal for Carlisle Airport, on the edge of the Lake District.

Although it is not well-known, the airline operates services for KLM Cityhopper, Aer Lingus and BA Cityflyer.

Johnson Matthey was treading water – falling 0.4pc, or 12p, to 3198p – after it partnered with Finland’s state mining company to develop an electric battery plant.

The FTSE 100 firm has been trying to gain a foothold in new technology such as batteries as the market for its traditional petrol and diesel catalytic converters business dwindles.