What happened yesterday?
Wall Street recovered some of the ground lost last week as investors anticipate the increase in infrastructure spending that is expected to follow a Joe Biden victory in the US election.
The S&P 500 was up 1.23% to 3,310.24, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.6% to 26,925.05, and the Nasdaq increased 0.42% to 10,957.61.
In London, the FTSE 100 ended the session up 1.39% at 5,654.97; however, the FTSE 250 dropped 0.2% to 17,180.52. This was amid a mixed picture, with better-than-expected manufacturing data and reports that a deal between the UK and EU on the future relationship is close, counter-balanced by fears over a second national lockdown and lingering uncertainty over the result of the US election.
Ocado was the day’s strongest performer on the main index, climbing 8.04% as the company increased its guidance for annual earnings from more than £40m to more than £60m.
The online supermarket also agreed to buy Kindred Systems, a piece-picking robotics company, for about $262m and robotic arm designer Haddington Dynamics for $25m.
Fellow grocers Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons also saw gains, rising 2.78%, 2.38% and 0.34% respectively.
JD Sports was the biggest faller, shedding 6.77% as it prepared to shut its stores again.
GVC, the owners of Ladbrokes, was also down, losing 3.44% after warning that core earnings could fall by £43m due to coronavirus restrictions imposed on its European shops.
On the currency markets, the pound fell 0.19% against the dollar to $1.2917, and was down 0.05% against the euro to €1.1099.