UPDATE 3-UK's FTSE 100 joins global rally, boosted by banks, travel shares

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* FTSE 100 up 1.6%, FTSE 250 adds 1.7%
* Equipment rental firm Ashtead rises on steps to boost
liquidity
* Novacyt to supply coronavirus test kits to UK government
* Holiday-Inn owner jumps after raising BoE loan

(Updates with market closing)
By Devik Jain and Sagarika Jaisinghani
April 27 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 rose on Monday,
boosted by banks and travel stocks, as investors globally
returned to riskier assets after several countries signalled the
easing of lockdowns measures.
The blue-chip index .FTSE closed 1.6% higher, but lagged
its continental peers as Prime Minister Boris Johnson returned
to work after recovering from COVID-19 with a warning that it
was still too dangerous to relax Britain's stringent
restrictions on economic activity and everyday life.
Johnson, however, added the government would outline plans
to ease some measures in the coming days. Cruise operator Carnival Plc CCL.L jumped 8.6% to top the
list of gainers, while Holiday Inn-owner InterContinental Hotels
IHG.L rose 7.1% as it raised 600 million pounds ($747 million)
from Bank of England loans under the government's coronavirus
aid scheme. A rally across European banks boosted shares in HSBC
HSBA.L , Lloyds Banking Group LLOY.L and Barclays BARC.L .
The FTSE 100 has recovered more than 19% from its mid-March
lows, absorbing trillions of dollars in stimulus measures by
central banks and governments, but it still stands down more
than 24% from its January peak.
"Currently, a lot of positive news have already been
integrated by the market, absolute valuations are back on top of
their range," Indosuez Wealth Management strategists wrote in a
note.
"There is still a lot of challenges to face including
potential re-acceleration in infections, negative earnings
revisions...and more structurally, the risk of seeing a vicious
spiral which is typical in a global recession."
Countries from Italy to New Zealand, and certain U.S.
states, announced the easing of coronavirus lockdowns after
nearly a month as they try to revive their battered economies.
Although its lockdown exit strategy is unclear, Britain is
now seeing a downward trend in the number of people who are in
hospital with the new coronavirus. "The problem is that reopening will mean added costs to
small business in creating an environment that is safe for the
consumer and employees," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst
at Oanda in New York.
"The easing of lockdown measures will likely only provide a
limited rally here."
Britain's finance minister Rishi Sunak on Monday announced
100% state guarantees on loans to the country's smallest
businesses. The FTSE small-cap index .FTSC rose 0.7%, while mid-cap
shares .FTMC gained 1.7%, with shares in TUI Group TUIT.L
Europe's biggest tour operator, surging 14.3% to the top of the
list of index movers.
Equipment rental firm Ashtead AHT.L jumped 8.5% after
saying it had raised an extra $500 million in debt to ride out
the economic slump.