The FTSE 100 got off to a strong start, gaining around 0.5% to 8,185.28 in opening trades.
Premier Inn owner Whitbread has booked an early place at the top of the leaderboard, up 3.1% after reporting solid first-quarter numbers and expressing confidence in achieving its full-year outlook.
However, Ashtead Group fell 4% after its fourth-quarter results came in below expectations, with full-year profits down 2%. The construction equipment group also kept a lid on a mooted potential move of its main listing from London to New York.
In macro news, monthly UK grocery data from Kantar shows price inflation dropping to 2.1% in the four weeks to 9 June, down from 2.4% a month earlier and the sixteenth consecutive monthly drop. This easing inflation and many rainy days led to the lowest take-home grocery sales growth in two years, which was up 1.0% in value terms in the four weeks.
Of the listed supermarkets, Ocado Retail, the joint venture between Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) and Marks and Spencer saw the strongest growth, with sales up 10.7% in the 12 weeks to 9 June, with Tesco sales up 4.6% and Sainsbury's up 4.9%.
