£ 97bn added to the value of companies at start of 2021

LONDON’S top index came close to breaking its perfect 2021 so far, but notched up a fifth straight day of gains instead on Friday.

The index rose by 16.3 points, or 0.2 per cent, to end the week on 6,873.26.

It was dented by the spread of Covid- 19 in the United Kingdom, as registered virus deaths hit 1,325 people - the highest number to date.

But it was not enough to take away the positive sentiment that has been seen on London markets all week.

By the close on Friday, the FTSE 100 had gained around 380 points compared to where it started 2021. It adds approximately £ 97b to the companies on the index.

“The declaration of a ‘ major incident’ in London contributed to the unwinding of the FTSE’s momentum, if not the brunt of its explosive 2021 growth,’’ said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.

Earlier on Friday, US jobs figures h a d s h o w n a l a r g e r - t h a n - expected drop. Around 140,000 jobs were lost in the country last month, compared to the 77,000 that analysts had forecast.

CMC Markets analyst David Madden said: “In recent sessions there has been a lot of chatter that the future Biden administration will provide extra stimulus to the economy.

“The mixed nature of the jobs report hasn’t stoked up calls for extra stimulus but at the same time, the poor top line number suggests the economic rebound is running out of steam and needs assistance.’’

The Dow Jones had lost a quarter of a per cent, while the

S& P 500 was up 0.1 per cent, shortly after markets closed in Europe.

Across the Channel, France’s Cac and Germany’s Dax closed the day up 0.4 per cent each.

The pound gained 0.1 per cent against the dollar and now buys 1.3581 dollars or 1.1082 euros, the latter being a 0.2 per cent rise.

In company news, housebuilder Barratt Developments proved one of the best performers of the day after saying it would bring back its dividend next month.

Shares rose 4.5 per cent.

Three months with on and off restrictions saw Marks & Spencer’s sales drop by 7.6 per cent it revealed on Friday. Its shares dropped 2.4 per cent.

Having only made revenue of £ 54m over three months in the 1,400 pubs where it had notched up more than £ 1b a year earlier was not enough to put investors off Marston’s, whose shares rose 6.7 per cent.

Shares soared 16.5 per cent as Reach, which publishes the Daily Mirror and Daily Express, revealed it will beat its profit targets because of high online revenue in 2020.

And for Pets at Home shareholders it proved a good day as their holdings rose in value by 6.7 per cent after it raised its profit targets for the first time since September.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Hargreaves Lansdown, up 85p to 1655p, Barratt Developments, up 31p to 720p, Ocado, 102p to 2481p, Compass Group, 60p to 1473.5p, and Just Eat Takeaway, up 304p to 8992p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Fresnillo, down 43p to 1204.5p, Rolls- Royce, down 3.8p to 107.3p, Polymetal, down 54p to 1770.5p, BT, down 3.85p to 143p, and Sainsbury’s, down 5.7p to 242.8p.

The main shareholder of Londonlisted oil company Lekoil has withdrawn a demand that its chairman Mark Simmonds, be removed from the company’s board. Lekoil said that Metallon had withdrawn the issue from consideration. But shareholders will still vote on three people whom Metallon wants nominated to the board in a dispute with the company over the valuation of an offshore oil field.