FTSE 100 supported by financial, healthcare stocks

London’s FTSE 100 rose slightly, helped by gains in healthcare and financial stocks. In the mean while investors assessed risks from rising COVID infections globally and also has concerns about easing economic growth. The blue-chip FTSE 100 climbed 0.1%. The banking sector was the top performer with a 0.9% climb. David Madden, an analyst at Equiti Capital said that the FTSE 100 being quite bank stocks-heavy is expected to perform better if not maintain positive levels, with financial stocks set to gain going ahead on chatter of a higher interest rate regime or a slight tapering of central bank purchases.

The investors shifted their focus towards the U.S. Federal Reserve’s annual symposium, and hence the Global equity markets were lacklustre. The FTSE 100 has risen nearly 28% from its October 2020 lows. This is after the economy started to recover from the pandemic-related lockdowns. The domestically focussed mid-cap index gained 0.4%. Waste management firm Augean surged 16.7%. This is after it said it agreed to a buyout offer of 341 million pounds from a group affiliated to London-based investment.

British subprime lender Amigo dropped 2.1%, after increased losses in the last financial year. In signs of steady interest for UK corporates, activist investor Cevian Capital pushed its stake above 5% in insurer Aviva.