Markets are lifted as travel firms fly high

US markets seemed detached from the reality on the ground yesterday, as they helped drag their European cousins upwards.

The FTSE 100, which had been fairly stable up until the opening bell in New York, jumped as it saw the upbeat mood on the other side of the pond.

The index closed the day up 66.47 points, or 1.1%, to 6,225.77.

It has followed positive US traders, who sent the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 up 1.7% and 1.1% respectively, despite indications that the coronavirus pandemic is getting worse, not better, in the US.

The US markets were buoyed by the news that Boeing will be able to start test flying its 737 Max planes again this week.

In the UK, British Airways owner IAG topped the FTSE 100, rising 4%, while easyJet added more than 5%, as the government prepares to lift quarantine rules for travellers from some countries.

The Cac 40 ended the day up 0.7%, while the Dax was 1.2% up.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil rose 0.7% to 41.29 US dollars per barrel.

The pound was 0.6% lower against the euro at 1.0927, and fell 0.5% when buying dollars, at 1.2276.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were IAG, up 8.8p to 230.6p, Standard Chartered, up 16.6p to 439.2p, Kingfisher, up 8.4p to 223.1p, Pearson, up 20.4p to 582.4p, and BP, up 10.3p to 314.9p.

The biggest fallers were GVC Holdings, down 20.8p to 742.8p, Flutter Entertainment, down 225p to 10,820p, Avast, down 9p to 522.5p, Unilever, down 76p to 4,443p, and Aveva, down 66p to 4,060p.