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* FTSE 100 up 0.7%, FTSE 250 jumps 1.3%
May 19 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 climbed for a third
straight day on Tuesday as investors pinned their hopes on a
speedy recovery from a coronavirus-fuelled recession, while
several more UK firms took steps to shore up cash reserves to
ride out the economic slump.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE rose 0.7% to a two-and-a-half
week high following its strongest finish in nearly two months on
Monday that was powered by positive data from an early-stage
trial of a coronavirus vaccine.
The domestically focussed FTSE 250 .FTMC added 1.3%, with
battered insurers .FTNMX8570 , miners .FTNMX1770 and
industrials .FTNMX2710 among the strongest gainers in early
trading.
Specialist insurer Beazley Plc BEZG.L jumped 4.9% as it
said it had raised 247 million pounds ($301.83 million) in fresh
capital. But the world's largest caterer Compass Group CPG.L fell
2.6% after launching a 2 billion pound ($2.44 billion) share
offer to boost liquidity as the health crisis shuts its food
service operations in offices and schools. Tobacco group Imperial Brands Plc IMB.L shed 3.9% as it
announced plans to cut its dividend by a third and said it
expects a bigger hit from the crisis in the second half of the
year.