* FTSE 100 up 0.6%, FTSE 250 up 0.4%
* Burberry near one-year high after upbeat first-quarter
update
* Pound sinks as Brexit worries mount
* Airlines up as 737 MAX delays expected to ease
over-capacity
* A.G.Barr tanks after profit warning
(Adds news items, analyst comment, graphic, updates to closing
prices)
By Shashwat Awasthi
July 16 (Reuters) - London's main index rose on Tuesday as
Burberry scaled an 11-month high after its first-quarter update
showed new designs boosted sales, and a weaker sterling aided
exporter stocks, while mid-caps rose in a rare break from the
domestic currency.
The FTSE 100 .FTSE added 0.6%, its best day in nearly 2
weeks, outperforming the broader European markets.
Gains in easyJet EZJ.L and Aston Martin AML.L helped the
domestically-focused FTSE 250 .FTMC advance 0.4%, despite a
hit to the local currency from mounting Brexit jitters.
Luxury brand Burberry BRBY.L jumped more than 15% on its
best day ever, after it posted a stronger-than-expected rise in
first-quarter comparable-store sales and affirmed its annual
forecast. "The big question facing Burberry has been to what extent
the Chinese consumer is reining in their luxury buying ... Not
so much, it seems," Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson said, as the
company's revenue growth in China and across Asia improved.
Airline stocks climbed after Ryanair RYA.L said deliveries
of Boeing's BA.N 737 MAX planes may be delayed further,
raising the prospects of easing over-capacity in the European
market. "It's just that reduced capacity is what is required for the
industry - improved pricing environment which should be
supportive of margins," Wilson said.
Shares in Europe's largest budget carrier, which cut its
forecast for growth in traveller numbers next summer, and
British Airways owner IAG ICAG.L gained 2.6% each.
EasyJet EZJ added 5.4% and was the biggest boost to the
FTSE 250. Luxury automaker Aston Martin AML.L advanced 7.6%
after a rating upgrade from Jefferies and a bullish view from
Goldman Sachs. The mid-cap index has broken ranks with sterling, defying
its positive correlation with the UK's domestic currency. The
index is up 12.3% this year while the pound has slipped 2.7%.
The currency slumped on Tuesday to a 27-month low against
the U.S. dollar amid increasing concerns of a chaotic, no-deal
Brexit. Tour operator Thomas Cook, whose shares lost more than half
their value last week, surged 11%. Wilson cited this to
speculation that its proposed rescue deal with Fosun Tourism
1992.HK , which would significantly dilute the stakes of other
shareholders, may not go through.
Mid-cap A.G.Barr BAG.L lost more than a quarter of its
value on its worst day ever, after the Irn-Bru maker warned that
its annual profit would sink 20% compared with last year.
Fellow soft-drink makers Fevertree FEVR.L , Britvic
BVIC.L and Nichols NICL.L fell between 1.3% and 3.6%.
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