1 March 2021 | 08:39am
StockMarketWire.com - UK stocks opened substantially higher on Monday after Johnson & Johnson s single-dose Covid-19 vaccine was approved for use in the US.
At 0823, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 104.78 points, or 1.6%, at 6,588.21.
The Johnson & Johnson shot, expected to be distributed this week, will be the first single-dose vaccine anywhere on the market.
Sentiment also was being buoyed by optimism US lawmakers will soon push through a huge stimulus package.
In local news, distribution and services group Bunzl fell 2.0% to 321.93p, even as it reported a rise in profit driven by sales of higher priced Covid-19-related products.
1 March 2021 | 07:07am
StockMarketWire.com - Supermarket group Morrisons extended a wholesale supply agreement with convenience store chain McColl s Retail, the companies said on Monday.
As part of the agreement, 300 McColl s convenience stores would be converted to the Morrisons Daily format over the next three years.
The stores would offer the full Morrisons convenience range and be branded Morrisons Daily, but would continue to be owned and operated by McColl s. This roll-out follows over 30 successful McColl s to Morrisons Daily conversions in recent months, Morrisons said.
McColl s said the Morrisons Daily stores had consistently delivered the strongest like-for-like sales performance within the McColl s estate.