FTSE 100 rises Turkish currency crisis

Archived article

Please note that tax, investment, pension and ISA rules can change and the information and any views contained in this article may now be inaccurate.

Despite a Turkish currency crisis and weakness in the travel sector on fears of another summer marred by restrictions the FTSE 100 managed modest gains on Monday up 0.3% to 6,726.10.

Sentiment was helped by a strong open in the US with the S&P 500 up 0.9% to 3,946.15 by 4.30pm UK time.

The Turkish lira tumbled as much as 14% against the US dollar after president Tayyip Erdogan sacked the country's central bank governor.

In corporate news, pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca firmed 3.3% to £73.44 after a clinical trial in the US showed its Covid-19 vaccine was 79% effective at preventing symptomatic illness.

The trial also found the vaccine was 100% effective at preventing severe disease and hospitalisation.

Home improvement retailer Kingfisher climbed 3.6% to 324p, having resumed its dividend after reporting a large rise in annual profit underpinned by 7.1% sales growth and cost cutting.

Kingfisher declared a dividend of 8.25p per share for the year, up from 3.33p year-on-year.

Gold miner Centamin was down 0.4% to 104.4p as it reported a jump in profit, after lower output was more than offset by a surge in prices for the precious metal.

Luxury car retailer Cambria Automobiles revved 15.2% higher to 76p on news that it was mulling a possible management buyout, at 80p per share.

Student accommodation provider Unite shed 0.8% to £10.12 after it received planning approval for a 700-bed development at Derby Road in Nottingham, estimated to cost £57 million to develop.

Video advertising group Tremor International rallied 15% to 700p on guiding for an annual profit for calendar 2021 'significantly ahead' of previous expectations.