London’s FTSE 100 Index has soared to its highest level as the shares rally shows little sign of easing.
The FTSE surpassed the previous intraday record of 8,047.06 from February last year, with investors in good spirits amid continued hopes of geopolitical tensions easing and economic conditions improving.
In early trading on Tuesday, retailers and financial stocks were among those making gains, helping lift the FTSE 100 to highs of about 8,075.
The index also finished at a record closing level, of 8,044.81, although this came after a slight dip during afternoon trading after comments from Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill suggested there could still be a wait before the central bank cuts interest rates.
The index saw an overall increase of 0.26% during trading on Tuesday.
It came after the blue-chip share index had seen a strong rally on Monday to a then-record close price of 8,023.87, which had surpassed a record set in February 2023.
On Tuesday, only a handful of stocks had started the day with losses, including the indices’ top miners.
Experts suggested that the rally has something to do with renewed hopes of UK interest rates coming down, thanks to inflation moving closer to its 2% target level.
Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter Investors, said: “With economic growth still lagging for many of its G7 peers, the UK has turned this to its strength in the fight against inflation, which last month fell below that of the US and saw Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey announce that this data shows the UK is ‘pretty much on track’ with the central bank’s forecasts.”
She said it has led investors to anticipate that interest rate cuts could “arrive in the UK well before the US”, which has helped the pound weaken against the US dollar.
The FTSE 100 contains many large international companies whose earnings are generated in dollars but reported in pounds, meaning they become more profitable when the dollar strengthens.
This benefits UK-based investors and means London stock markets are given a boost.