FTSE opens up 1.19% by 57 points on 5,898 - after business leaders blasted Boris Johnson for ushering office staff back to WFH due to Covid threat
The FTSE 100 surged by more than two percent this morning as it was buoyed by a weaker pound - even as new data suggested Britain's recovery has slowed.
Britain's blue-chip index was up more than 125 points (2.15%) to reach 5,954 by 10am, with share prices also buoyed by a tech-led surge on Wall Street overnight.
Boris Johnson's new coronavirus restrictions proved as expected when they were announced yesterday, lessening their impact for worried traders even as the rest of the country digested their implications.
Today's gains came despite new data indicating the UK's economic recovery lost steam this month, with an influential survey of bosses showing business sentiment falling across the board.
The weak pound, now hovering at a two-month low, benefits Britain's largest companies because most of their earnings are made overseas in dollars.
The FTSE 100 stood at 5898.98 at the start of today's session following a strong overnight performance on Wall Street. Pictured is an office worker outside the London Stock Exchange
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: 'This strong performance on the part of US stocks is likely to translate into a similarly positive open for European stocks this morning, however there is rising concern that in light of surging infection rates across Europe, and the beginnings of a rise in hospitalisations, that the economic rebound from the lockdown lows is set to finish the year with a whimper.
'Yesterday’s actions by the UK government in imposing closing time restrictions on the hospitality sector, as well as table only service, along with the reinstatement of the working from home advice for at least six months, has raised the very real prospect of a whole host of businesses which may not survive until the end of the year.'
It came as business leaders criticised the PM for imposing new restrictions on the economy as it begins to recover from the depths of the Covid crisis.
Pound at a two-month low against the dollar
The dollar is holding on to gains against major currencies, leaving the pound at its lowest level against the greenback since the end of July.
Sterling is down 0.3 per cent against the dollar, with £1 buying $1.269 on currency markets.
Against the euro, the pound is 0.15 per cent lower, with £1 buying €1.0858.
Mr Johnson said it was necessary to reintroduce working from home rules and a swathe of social measures in order to avoid a dramatic surge in deaths.
But the beleaguered premier faced fire from all sides as he U-turned on his push to reopen workplaces.
He also faced barbs for introducing other swingeing new measures including a 10pm pub curfew and £200 fines for mask rule-breakers in England.
The more domestically-focused FTSE 250 was also up this morning, climbing 1.66% by 10am, with healthcare stocks leading the way.
Beauty products maker PZ Cussons Plc fell 1.2% despite posting a 23% rise in first-quarter revenue on higher sales of hand wash, sanitiser gels and soaps.
SSP Group, the owner of Upper Crust and Caffe Ritazza, rose 4.2% after pointing to an improvement in weekly sales even as it forecast an 86% drop in second-half sales due to the pandemic.
Investors are awaiting new Purchasing Managers’ Index data to be released later in the day for clues on how the economy performed in September.
The FTSE 100 closed 25 points (0.43%) at 5,829 yesterday - a marked recovery from Monday's plunge which saw £51bn wiped off its value.
Yesterday, Boris Johnson said it was necessary to reintroduce working from home rules and a swathe of social measures in order to avoid a dramatic surge in deaths