FTSE rises but struggles to recover from Tuesday’s crash
The FTSE 100 posted another hike on Thursday after the Prime Minister announced plans to step down when a successor can be found.
Mainly helped by the rising prices of commodities, oil and mining stocks dominated the top of the index after a rough couple of days.
It led the index to finish at 7,189.08, a 1.1% – or 81.31 point – rebound from Tuesday’s fall but not enough to put it back where it was at the start of the week.
Anglo American, Harbour Energy, Glencore, Antofagasta and BP were at the top of the index.
It came as the price of Brent crude oil rose over 5% to 106.06.
“After a tough few days for commodity prices the buyers have come storming back, and the FTSE 100 has felt the benefits of this in a big way,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG.
“Oil stocks and miners have once again provided the foundation for a bounce, putting the fight back into the index after a choppy few days.
“To be fair the global outlook for indices seems to be brighter in the wake of yesterday’s Fed minutes, if only because everyone seems to be glad to get the issue out of the way for a while.
“The recent fall in commodity prices might provide some temporary relief on inflation, and perhaps earnings season will surprise on the upside when it kicks off next week.”
Meanwhile in Europe the Dax index closed up 2% and the Cac 40 gained 1.6%.
On Wall Street the S&P 500 had added 1.2% and the Dow Jones was up 0.8% shortly after European markets had closed.
The pound rose 0.62% to 1.1991 dollars and 0.91% to 1.1807 euros.
“Sterling is revelling in what is probably its last ‘Boris bounce’, moving up against the dollar and the euro as the political crisis of the past few days subsides,” Mr Beauchamp said.
“The only question now is whether Labour has the strength to upset the Tory-run handover of power and force a snap election through a no-confidence vote in Parliament.
“Even this isn’t much of a risk to the (not very bright) economic outlook, given Labour’s tame policy positions compared to 2019.”
In company news, electronics retailer Currys said that adjusted pre-tax profits had risen from £156 million last year to £186 million in the 12 months to the end of April.
The business saved £69 million over the period by cutting costs, it told investors, offsetting a £50 rise in costs. Shares rose 8.8%.
Entain, down 7%, said that online gaming revenue will stay flat this year. Gamblers are cutting their spending as the cost of living bites, it added.
In the first half, online gaming revenue dropped by 7%, the company said. It had predicted revenue growth in a March update to the market.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Antofagasta, up 76.5p to 1,116.5p, Anglo American, up 187p to 2,816p, Harbour Energy, up 20.5p to 319p, Glencore, up 24.8p to 433.25p, and BP, up 16.6p to 385.25p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Persimmon, down 92.5p to 1,772.5p, Flutter Entertainment, down 348.0p to 8,090p, Entain, down 43.5p to 1,096.5p, BAT, down 109.0p to 3,379.5p, and Smith & Nephew, down 32.5p to 1,132.5p.
