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UK stocks started 2022 on the front foot, led by travel and leisure stocks as investors attempted to move on from worries about the impact of the Omicron variant.
At 08:51, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 97 points, or 1.3%, to 7,481.49.
Aerospace and defence company Rolls-Royce rose about 4% to 127.68 pence after completing the sale of its Bergen Engines business to Langley Holdings for an enterprise value of €63 million.
Restaurants owner and operator Tasty was up 6% to 5.45 pence despite warning that performance in December was 'considerably weaker' than anticipated as pandemic-related government restrictions reduced customers eating out and deterred larger Christmas bookings. Budget carrier Wizz Air jumped 7.5% to £45.03 after announcing that its passenger numbers increased in December amid an ongoing recovery in the travel sector.
Capita was flat at 36.54 pence after completing the sale of its secure solutions and services business to NEC Software Solutions UK for £62 million.
Building materials distributor Grafton added 1.5% to £12.51 after announcing that it had completed the sale of its traditional merchanting business in the UK.
Geospatial productivity and collaboration software company IQGeo climbed 4% to 133.88 pence after winning a five-year contract from an unnamed US telecom network operator.