(Sharecast News) - London equity markets rose in early trade on Tuesday, with travel and leisure stocks underpinned by vaccine optimism and news of a shortened travel quarantine from next month.
At 0900 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 6,373.47.
Sentiment was also lifted by news that the Donald Trump administration has accepted President-elect Joe Biden's transition into office.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "If nothing special, the markets were still broadly upbeat on Tuesday, lingering vaccine optimism joined by a significant step forward in ending 2020's election saga.
"After much delay the General Services Administration has signalled that Joe Biden and his team can begin the formal transition process ahead of January's inauguration, a move that Donald Trump gave his approval despite insisting he will continue with his unfounded claims of voter fraud in order to overturn the result.
"The key thing for the markets is that the smoother the transition, the easier it will be in theory for the new administration to hit the ground running in January - vitally needed given the out-of-control American covid-19 situation, and the planning needed for a nationwide vaccine rollout."
In equity markets, British Airways and Iberia parent IAG and engine maker Rolls-Royce were on the front foot again, boosted by recent vaccine updates and news that from next month, travellers who arrive in England will be able to cut their quarantine to five days from 14 if they test negative for coronavirus on the fifth day. Passengers will have to pay for the tests privately.
Other travel and leisure stocks also gained, with InterContinental Hotels, Premier Inn owner Whitbread, TUI, Carnival, Cineworld, easyJet and Upper Crust owner SSP all higher.
On the downside, Phoenix Group lost ground as it confirmed press speculation regarding the possible sale of its European businesses.
Online electricals retailer AO World fell sharply despite saying it swung to a profit in the first half as strong demand amid the pandemic boosted revenues. In the six months to 30 September, the company swung to a pre-tax profit of £18.3m from a loss of £5.9m in the same period a year ago, with revenue up 53.2% to £717m.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor said: "It remains to be seen whether the meteoric rise can be continued, but for the moment an increase in the share price of 382% over the last year, as compared to a dip of 4.4% for the wider FTSE250, has rewarded shareholders handsomely. Even though this can partially explain an inevitable bout of strong profit-taking on these numbers, the market consensus of the shares as a buy remains in place despite the blistering outperformance overall."
Pets at Home - classed as an essential retailer during lockdown - was also firmly in the red even as it reported higher interim profits and maintained its dividend after a strong second quarter as it forecast full-year results to be in line with expectations.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,373.47 0.63%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,720.21 0.70%
techMARK (TASX) 3,946.88 0.61%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 117.10p 9.44%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 177.00p 6.31%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,428.00p 6.29%
BP (BP.) 265.30p 4.68%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,780.00p 4.66%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,188.00p 3.47%
Glencore (GLEN) 206.50p 3.42%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,338.00p 3.00%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,290.40p 3.00%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,077.00p 2.87%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,712.00p -5.93%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,049.00p -3.32%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 789.60p -2.85%
Experian (EXPN) 2,785.00p -2.69%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 11,255.00p -2.26%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,195.00p -2.18%
Croda International (CRDA) 6,026.00p -1.86%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 495.30p -1.84%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,824.00p -1.81%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,351.00p -1.63%
FTSE 250 - Risers
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 524.60p 11.19%
Carnival (CCL) 1,322.00p 9.66%
SSP Group (SSPG) 338.60p 7.70%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 166.70p 6.35%
easyJet (EZJ) 828.80p 6.34%
Meggitt (MGGT) 423.90p 6.11%
Capita (CPI) 49.09p 5.25%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 297.30p 5.16%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 58.00p 4.88%
FirstGroup (FGP) 64.85p 4.68%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 387.80p -7.40%
AO World (AO.) 390.50p -6.91%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 208.00p -4.06%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 104.15p -3.88%
Gamesys Group (GYS) 1,044.00p -2.43%
BMO Global Smaller Companies (BGSC) 135.00p -1.89%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,250.00p -1.88%
Scottish Inv Trust (SCIN) 705.00p -1.81%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 1,560.50p -1.61%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 299.30p -1.55%