LONDON: London's FTSE 100 rose on Thursday, led by upbeat quarterly earnings reports from drugmaker AstraZeneca and soft drink bottler Coca-Cola HBC, while information group Relx jumped after it said it would raise its dividend.
AstraZeneca gained 1.7% and was the top boost to the FTSE 100 after it beat analysts' estimates for fourth-quarter product sales and also forecast revenue growth in 2021. The blue-chip index rose 0.3% with beverage makers leading gains after shares of soft drink bottler Coca-Cola HBC jumped 5% on forecasting revenue recovery in 2021. The mid-cap index added 0.1%.
"Constant liquidity infusion by central banks is continuing to help support equities, in addition to the hope and optimism among investors that the vaccine roll-outs will help the economy get back on track," said Keith Temperton, sales trader at Forte Securities.
Weighing on sentiment was a sharp drop in Britain's housing market in January as the country went back into a coronavirus lockdown and a tax break for buyers neared its expiry, according to a survey. Real estate stocks dropped 0.7%.
A raft of global stimulus has helped the FTSE 100 rebound nearly 30% from a coronavirus-induced crash in March 2020, but the index is still about 15% below its highest level last year, underperforming its European and US peers.
Relx gained 1.5% after the European information business provider planned to raise its dividend by 3%.
Retailer Ted Baker plunged 7% on reporting a 47% fall in fourth-quarter revenue, as stores in Britain were shut during the latest lockdown and due to weak demand during the Christmas season. Royal Mail was up 6.7% after its quarterly revenue jumped 20%, while the company also forecast an annual profit of more than 500 million pounds ($692.20 million).
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