London-listed shares jumped on Tuesday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out plans to reopen thousands of high street shops next month from a coronavirus-induced lockdown, while Aston Martin soared after naming a new chief executive officer.
The luxury carmaker (AML.L) surged 24.8% and was on course for its best day in nearly two months as it said Tobias Moers, CEO of Mercedes-AMG, would become its CEO on Aug. 1, replacing Andy Palmer who stepped down on Monday.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 1.9% and the mid-cap FTSE 250 2.4%, joining in a global rally as hopes of more stimulus from China helped investors look past simmering Sino-U.S. tensions. [MKTS/GLOB]
BP Plc (BP.L) and Royal Dutch Shell Plc RDA.L jumped 2.9% and 4.3%, respectively, with oil prices jumping on optimism that a revival in business activity would bring back demand for the commodity. [O/R]
Only three stocks on the FTSE 100 were trading in the red, with early gains led by the travel and leisure .FTNMX5750, construction .FTNMX2350 and banking .FTNMX8350 sectors.