Good morning from London, where the FTSE 100 is up slightly this morning after a pretty rough week of losses. Investors around the world appear to be reacting to confident comments from Joe Biden that the US will avoid a default on debt in June.
Here in the UK, fresh data from the ONS showed 0.5% growth in retail sales during April – data which adds to the impression that the UK economy is actually in better shape than many predicted it would be a few months ago.
Asos investors have reacted positively to the online retailer’s plans to raise £75mln through a share placing and new long-term £275mln financing facility, with shares rising this morning.
AstraZeneca shares also rose after it announced “statistically significant” results from a trial of a combined drug and chemotherapy treatment for endometrial cancer.
British Airways faced a tough morning, as an IT issue led to over 150 flights in and out of Heathrow being grounded on the eve of another long weekend.
And with the small caps, Quantum Blockchain soared after it announced the appointment of Vladimir Kusznirczuk as business development manager, following time at BlackBerry and T-Mobile.