LONDON: London’s FTSE 100 stock index closed higher on Tuesday, recouping earlier losses as strong results from medical products maker Smith+Nephew and gains in industrial stocks countered concerns relating to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
The FTSE 100 ended 0.1% higher, with industrials up 0.8% to lead gains, while miners advanced 0.4% tracking stronger metal prices.
Smith+Nephew surged 7.5% and was the top boost on the index after naming Siemens Healthineers’ Deepak Nath its new chief executive, while Holiday Inn owner IHG gained 4.2% as its annual profit beat estimates.
The domestically focussed mid-cap index shed 0.5%, its fifth session of declines amid geopolitical tensions.
The United States and its European allies started to announce harsh new sanctions against Russia after President Vladimir Putin recognized two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine and ordered troops to those regions.
“We’re in the headline-chasing market. Every time you see a headline that is a little bit positive or a little bit negative the markets gap up and down,” said Keith Temperton, a sales trader at Forte Securities.
Oil major BP, the largest foreign investor in Russia, fell 0.5% after Germany halted the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea gas pipeline project, designed to double the flow of Russian gas direct to Germany.
Shell gained 0.5% as oil prices rallied on fears of a supply disruption as Europe’s eastern flank stood on the brink of war.
The energy sub-index has gained 18.7% since the start of 2022 and has been the biggest boost to the benchmark FTSE 100 index.
Retail stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown fell 15.6% after reporting a drop in half-year profit, hurt by lower interest rates and easing market volatility.
AstraZeneca fell 1.5% after Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said non-executive Chairman Leif Johansson will retire next year after serving 11 years in the role.
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