Hopes of trade deal give boost to FTSE 100

The FTSE 100 edged higher yesterday on renewed hopes of a US-China trade deal, while the Royal Bank Of Scotland was a standout performer following better than expected results.

London’s blue-chip index closed 39.67 points, or 0.55%, higher at 7,236.68, while Germany’s DAX rose 1.73% and France’s CAC grew 1.76%.

Fiona Cincotta, senior market analysts at City Index, said: “Trade chatter continued to dictate sentiment on Friday.

“European markets charged higher and Wall Street opened on a positive footing, following reports that US and China had reached a consensus in principle on key topics in the trade negotiations.

“The promise of further talks next week has ignited optimism in the markets as the world’s two largest economies scramble to reach a deal before the March deadline.”

Miners helped lift the FTSE 100 thanks to higher metal prices, while RBS was a notable player on the index during the day and closed up 5.9p to 247.5p.

Sterling was up 0.35% against the US dollar at 1.285 and was 0.61% higher versus the euro at 1.139 at the London market close.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, traded up 1.9% at 65.84 US dollars (£51.23).

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Melrose Industries up 9p to 170p, CocaCola HBC up 99p to 2,562p, Tesco up 6.3p to 224.2p and Evraz up 13.8p to 534p.

The biggest fallers were Standard Life Aberdeen down 14.8p to 233.75p, Kingfisher down 7.1p to 225.5p, and Next down 102p to 4,724p.