Financial companies help pull FTSE 100 to new two-year high

A late-afternoon spurt led to the FTSE 100 closing at another 24-month high yesterday as big financial companies led the way.

The rise came despite heavy falls in the retail sector, as JD Sports and Next closed down more than 6% and 4%, respectively.

“European markets have had a steady day, taking a pause after the gains of the past couple of days,” said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.

Prudential, Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered made the top of the FTSE, while some miners, including Glencore, joined them on the list of the day’s winners.

Between them, they helped the FTSE stay at its highest levels since January 2020.

In the first two weeks of the year, the index has gained more than 2%, outperforming many international peers.

In the US, the Dow Jones had gained 0.6%, and the S&P 500 dropped 0.1%, Germany’s Dax was flat while the Cac 40 in Paris lost 0.5% of its value.

Sterling dropped 0.1%, and by the end of the day, one pound bought 1.3728 dollars or 1.1977 euros.

Marks & Spencer was one of the retailers to report after what it called a “strong” Christmas as sales rose 8.6% in the three months to the end of the year.

The outstanding performer was the food business, but its clothing and home unit also reported a jump in sales.

However, M&S’S shares were not boosted by the news, as they ended the day down 7.9% (see also page 35).

For Tesco, the drop was less severe, down 1.2%, with new restrictions helping the food retailer boost sales.

Asos’s shares gained more than 11% on the back of a strong UK performance, where sales rose 13% in the four months to the end of December.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Prudential, up 38p to 1,337p, IAG, up 4.38p to 165.52p and Barclays, up 5.3p to 217.1p.

The biggest fallers were JD Sports, down 14p to 197.95p, United Utilities, down 153p to 2,977p, Next, down 330p to 7,672p and Spirax-sarco, down 595p to 13,900p.

“European markets have had a steady day