US brings cheer across Atlantic

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 per cent, to 6,225.77.

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

Neither a new daily record of confirmed cases in Florida, which was set on Saturday, or a new lockdown of nearly half a million people outside Beijing were enough to put the Americans off. CMC Markets analyst David Madden said: “It is evident that the reopening of economies can bring about a surge in cases, but given the reaction by traders on both sides of the Atlantic, they don’t seem to care that much for now.”

The US markets were buoyed by the news that Boeing will be able to start test flying its 737 Max planes again this week. The global fleet of the Max planes have been grounded for more than a year after two fatal crashes.

In the UK, British Airways owner IAG topped the FTSE 100, rising 4 per cent at 230.6p, while Easyjet added more than 5 per cent to close at 686.4p, as the UK government prepares to lift quarantine rules for travellers from some countries.

The pound was 0.6 per cent lower against the euro at €1.0927, and fell 0.5 per cent when buying dollars, at $1.2276.

In a fairly quiet day for company news, BP dominated headlines after selling its petrochemicals arm to Ineos for £4 billion, a move that saw its shares end the day 3.4 per cent up at 314.9p.

That was just enough to scrape into the top five on the FTSE 100.

Frankie & Benny’s owner The Restaurant Group confirmed it will shut 125 of its restaurants after creditors voted in favour of a restructuring deal. Its shares ended up 3.5 per cent at 60p.

Lookers closed down by 0.7 per cent at 19.7p after the car dealership said it will book a £19 million hit due to a potential fraud in its accounts.