* FTSE 100 up 2.2%, FTSE 250 gains 5.1%
* Cineworld surges on liquidity talks
* Travel stocks, banks boost FTSE 100
* Assura drops on discounted share placement
(Updates with closing prices)
By Devik Jain and Sruthi Shankar
April 7 (Reuters) - Britain's stock markets surged on
Tuesday as signs of coronavirus infections easing in the
worst-hit regions of Europe boosted energy, banking and battered
travel stocks.
The internationally focused FTSE 100 .FTSE settled 2.2%
higher, pulling back from an early rise of 3.5% as a surging
pound weighed on exporters. GBP/
Midcap stocks .FTMC gained 5.1% with shares of Cineworld
CINE.L soaring about 50% after it suspended its dividend and
said it was in talks with landlords, film studios and major
suppliers to offset the impact of the closure of all of its 787
cinemas due to pandemic. Investors have welcomed signs of slowing increases in
coronavirus cases this week, particularly in hard-hit Italy
where the death toll fell sharply on Monday. "What we're seeing right now is a bit of a relief rally on
the basis that the second derivative of the newsflow isn't any
worse," said Russell Quelch, a financials analyst at Redburn.
"But it's still very much a volatile, temperamental and an
unpredictable market. We're going to stay that way for quite
some time until we move into Phase 2 of the crisis which is high
volatility and EPS revisions."
New York state reported its deadliest day with 731 new
deaths in the state on Tuesday, while the pace of deaths in
Spain ticked up for the first time in five days, paring some
hope among investors that cases were plateauing across the hot
spots. Meanwhile, Britain also saw its biggest daily increase in
deaths. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was in stable condition in
intensive care after receiving oxygen support to help him battle
COVID-19, the potentially lethal respiratory illness caused by
the novel coronavirus. Still, the less gloomy tone on Tuesday helped the FTSE 100
recover about 15% from its March low, but remains 26% below
from its January highs as experts warn a sharp economic slump is
underway.
Low-cost airline Easyjet EZJ.L jumped 15%, while Carnival
Corp CCL.L shot up 22% after Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth
fund disclosed an 8.2% stake in the coronavirus-hit cruise
operator. Travel stocks have been among the worst hit as they battle
dwindling passenger numbers and travel lockdowns. Oil & gas index .FTNMX0530 and banking stocks .FTNMX8350
gave the biggest boost to the FTSE 100.
Car dealership chain Inchcape INCH.L rose 11.3% as it
scrapped its dividend and said its board and senior management
would take a 20% pay cut as it sought to cut costs to endure the
coronavirus downturn. However, UK-based healthcare real estate investment trust
Assura AGRP.L dropped 10.2% to the bottom of midcap index on
discounted share placement. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
UK stocks: cheapest relative valuation since 2008 https://reut.rs/3e38XE4
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