London’s leading index recovers lost ground following invasion sell-off

The FTSE 100 staged a strong recovery yesterday as traders reversed much of the falls seen a day earlier after Russia invaded Ukraine.

London’s leading index closed the day up 282.08 points, or 3.91%, at 7489.46 in the biggest single-day rise since November 2020 – a day that saw Pfizer announce its Covid-19 vaccine was 90% successful.

Traders appeared to believe the impact of international sanctions against Russia may not destabilise the economy and also noted EU leaders were still wrangling over some of the details.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, said: “While the situation in Ukraine continues to keep markets on edge, we have seen a recovery in risk appetite this afternoon.

“Whether this lasts long into next week is a much bigger question.

“Bargain hunters have jumped into the FTSE 100 today, prompting a surge in stock prices that rivals yesterday’s declines.

“European markets have made headway too, but the gains are much less impressive here, as investors continue to fret about the economic dislocation to the European economy from higher gas prices and sanctions.”

Just two companies saw shares fall out of the 100 listed on the FTSE 100 – Fresnillo and JD Sports – whilst the biggest risers included Russian-facing mining giants Evraz, up 19.5%, and Polymetal up 17%. Both had fallen heavily on Thursday and failed to fully recover from those drops.

In France, the Cac closed up 3.55% and the German Dax was up 3.67%.

The pound fell back against the euro to 1.191 and the dollar at 1.34.

A barrel of oil was 97.05 dollars – a 2% fall on the day.

In company news, British Airways owner IAG said it expects to return to profitability in the second quarter of the year as it unveiled its results. Losses were halved from £7.8bn to £3.5bn before tax last year, with revenues up 8.3% to £8.5bn in the year to December. The number of passengers it carried was at 58% of 2019 levels in the last three months of the year, up from 43% in the quarter before.

Shares closed up 7.12p at 154.52p.

Bargain hunters have jumped into the FTSE 100