The FTSE 100 index closed up 1.38 per cent or 99.38 points to 7,297.41 this afternoon.
Rishi Sunak has set out a £1billion fund to help businesses hit by the rise in Covid cases, including the leisure and hospitality sector.
Hospitality businesses like pubs and restaurants will be able to apply for cash grants of up to £6,000 per premises.
British fund manager Schroders has reached an agreement to buy 75 per cent of renewable investor Greencoat Capital in a bid to grow its sustainable investment offering .
Schroders has agreed to pay £358million for the majority stake, valuing Greencoat at around £477million.
Hopes of a Santa rally faded yesterday as stock markets around the world were hit by mounting concerns over the Omicron coronavirus variant and lockdowns.
On a day of jitters in dealing rooms worldwide, the FTSE 100 closed down 1 per cent, after briefly dropping to a one-month low of around 7107 in early trading.
Kwasi Kwarteng has been urged to intervene in the £5.5billion takeover of Inmarsat. Tom Tugendhat, chairman of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, called on the Business Secretary to launch a national security review into the deal to buy the satellite telecommunications company.
Tugendhat told Kwarteng that Inmarsat’s sale to US rival Viasat could ‘diminish the UK’s sovereign capabilities’ in the ‘critically important’ sector.
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Rishi Sunak has set out a £1billion fund to help businesses hit by the rise in Covid cases
