Source: Sharecast
The FTSE 100 was up 0.7% at 8,695.14.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The FTSE 100 continued its ascent as investors loaded up on pharma and energy stocks.
"AstraZeneca, Shell and GSK were the biggest contributors to the FTSE 100 in terms of index points, suggesting that investors were fishing for opportunities among areas that have recently been weak.
"Pharma stocks have been volatile of late amid fears of tariffs on the sector, while a pullback in oil prices dragged down the big oil producers yesterday.
"All sectors on the UK market were in positive territory apart from industrials and real estate. Land Securities was the biggest FTSE 100 faller despite reassuring investors that it hadn’t seen an impact of economic uncertainty on customer demand or investment markets.
"Wall Street’s rally continued with pace last night and the S&P is now in positive territory year-to-date. That will be a relief to investors who feared that a lacklustre performance in the first part of 2025 marked the end of a bull run for US equities."
There are no major UK data releases due, but in the US, the Michigan consumer sentiment index for May will be eyed.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "It’s expected to rise from 52.2 last month to 53.1. Anything significantly higher could dampen the prospects for further US rate cuts this year."
In equity markets, St James’s Place jumped to the top of the FTSE 100 as JPMorgan reiterated its ‘strong conviction’ on the overweight-rated stock and lifted the price target to 1,310p from 1,205p. "St. James’s Place remains a top conviction within our coverage universe," it said.
Land Securities edged lower even as the real estate investment trust met consensus forecasts with a small increase full-year profits, and reiterated confidence in its plans to reallocate capital away from offices in the coming years.
Workspace tanked after the office space provider flagged a trading profit headwind of around £7m for the year ending 31 March 2026.
Specialist media platform Future slid as it cautioned that it expected a low single-digit decline in full-year organic revenue amid economic uncertainty.
Vesuvius tumbled as it said its end markets remain challenging and it now expects full-year results to be slightly lower than previous guidance.
Fresnillo reversed earlier gains after announcing the sale of the majority of its stake in MAG Silver following Pan American Silver’s agreement to acquire MAG.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,695.14 0.71%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,959.59 0.55%
techMARK (TASX) 4,728.91 0.65%
FTSE 100 - Risers
St James's Place (STJ) 1,125.00p 5.04%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 10,354.00p 2.09%
GSK (GSK) 1,389.50p 1.98%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 327.30p 1.93%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) 2,076.00p 1.76%
F&C Investment Trust (FCIT) 1,106.00p 1.56%
Experian (EXPN) 3,982.00p 1.37%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 11,575.00p 1.36%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,111.00p 1.28%
Rightmove (RMV) 754.20p 1.26%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,469.00p -1.48%
Kingfisher (KGF) 312.20p -1.23%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 352.70p -1.20%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,005.00p -1.08%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 348.80p -0.88%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 599.00p -0.75%
Spirax Group (SPX) 6,060.00p -0.66%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,072.00p -0.58%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,817.00p -0.56%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,144.00p -0.44%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 361.60p 4.81%
Greggs (GRG) 2,044.00p 4.55%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 996.00p 3.13%
Quilter (QLT) 155.90p 2.90%
Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 6,315.00p 2.35%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 299.00p 2.26%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 272.50p 2.25%
Premier Foods (PFD) 205.00p 2.24%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 598.50p 2.22%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 194.80p 2.20%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Workspace Group (WKP) 417.00p -8.15%
Future (FUTR) 717.50p -3.69%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 368.00p -1.76%
Bodycote (BOY) 550.50p -1.70%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 269.20p -1.61%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 78.50p -1.38%
Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Limited (FGEN) 72.70p -1.36%
Pollen Street Group Limited (POLN) 786.00p -1.26%
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 86.00p -1.04%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 67.90p -1.02%