(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Tuesday as the travel and leisure sectors continued to benefit from encouraging news on Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine, but gains were muted compared to the previous session's surge as investors digested the latest UK jobs data.
At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 6,213.36, having rallied 4.7% on Monday.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "For all of the optimism that we saw in yesterday's rebounds in travel, leisure, pubs, restaurants and other hospitality, we need to see evidence that consumer behaviour will start to change as well, and even then, overall capacity in all of these sectors is likely to be much lower than was the case pre-pandemic."

On the macroeconomic front, figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed the unemployment rose in September as the coronavirus pandemic continues to dent the jobs market.

The unemployment rate increased to 4.8% from 4.5% in August, in line with analyst's expectations. The data also showed that the number of workers on payrolls fell by 782,000 between March and October, with a 33,000 decline last month.

Meanwhile, redundancies hit a record high of 314,000, up 181,000 on the quarter.

Vacancies continued to recover but are still below the levels seen before the impact of the pandemic. There were an estimated 525,000 vacancies in August to October, up 146,000.

ONS deputy national statistician for Economic Statistics, Jonathan Athow. said: "The latest monthly tax numbers show over three-quarters of a million fewer employees on the payroll in October than in March.

"Unemployment grew sharply in the three months to September, with many of those who lost their jobs earlier in the pandemic beginning to look for work again. The number of redundancies has also reached a record high.

"Vacancies continued to recover from the very low numbers seen earlier in the year. However, these figures predate the reintroduction of restrictions in many parts of the UK."

In equity markets, travel and leisure-related stocks were on the rise again following Monday's vaccine news, with engine maker Rolls-Royce, British Airways parent IAG, Premier Inn owner Whitbread, Tui and Cineworld all higher.

Sales, marketing and support services group DCC was also on the front foot as it lifted its interim dividend by 5% and posted a rise in profit.

Mr Kipling and Oxo maker Premier Foods gained after bumping up its full-year profit outlook amid expectations the second lockdown will underpin demand, as it reported a jump in first-half profit.

On the downside, stocks that have benefited from Covid-related restrictions and lockdowns fell, with Just Eat Takeaway, Ocado and miniature wargames manufacturer Games Workshop all lower.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,213.36 0.44%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,948.44 0.52%
techMARK (TASX) 3,849.96 0.30%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 115.00p 15.00%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 138.35p 6.42%
DCC (DCC) 5,844.00p 4.32%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,708.00p 2.95%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,764.00p 2.75%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 150.00p 2.63%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,404.00p 2.41%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,291.00p 2.38%
CRH (CRH) 2,945.00p 2.04%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 31.35p 1.84%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Standard Chartered (STAN) 413.90p -2.66%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 142.70p -2.43%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,065.00p -1.84%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 8,240.00p -1.81%
Diageo (DGE) 2,858.00p -1.52%
Ferguson (FERG) 8,214.00p -1.27%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,255.00p -1.23%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 369.55p -1.19%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,785.00p -0.89%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 540.20p -0.77%

FTSE 250 - Risers

TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 420.00p 9.80%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 43.81p 8.39%
Premier Foods (PFD) 108.00p 4.85%
Beazley (BEZ) 335.60p 4.81%
AO World (AO.) 367.50p 4.70%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 771.00p 4.61%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,842.00p 4.54%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 355.00p 4.26%
National Express Group (NEX) 214.40p 4.08%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 137.00p 3.95%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Network International Holdings (NETW) 255.20p -7.87%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 2,640.00p -2.58%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 10,380.00p -1.98%
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 271.00p -1.81%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 8,240.00p -1.81%
Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 2,190.00p -1.79%
Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) 3,610.00p -1.77%
Greencore Group (GNC) 113.70p -1.73%
Bellway (BWY) 2,866.00p -1.71%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 325.80p -1.63%