LONDON: British shares gained on Thursday as a slew of upbeat corporate earnings supported investor sentiment at a time when rising cases of COVID-19 and fresh lockdowns across Europe raised concerns about fiscal health.

However, gains were capped as a major chunk of the global recovery in companies’ earnings expected in the first quarter is at risk of being pushed back further as virus curbs cloud hopes of a swifter economic rebound, investment banks said.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index gained 0.5%, with mining and real estate stocks gaining the most.

The mid-cap index gained 0.7%.

The FTSE 100 has recorded consistent monthly gains since November, supported by hopes of a vaccine-led economic recovery, but it has recently lost steam as a wave of coronavirus infections sparked new business restrictions. A boom in Britain’s housing market has started to fade, dampened by new COVID-19 lockdowns and the coming expiry of a temporary tax cut for buyers, a survey showed.

Homebuilder Taylor Wimpey dropped 1.2% even after saying its 2020 operating profit would meet market expectations, while Premier Inn-owner Whitbread gained 3% and jumped to the top of the FTSE 100 on lower job cuts than earlier expected.

Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer, fell 1.5% even as it reported a buoyant Christmas trading, while fashion retailer Boohoo slipped 1.3% even after raising its annual revenue target.

Primark owner AB Foods slid 0.7% on risks of an additional hit of 500 million pounds ($682.00 million), on top of the 1.05 billion pounds damage it is expecting to Feb. 27, if stores remain closed till end of March.