Return to bull territory for FTSE’S top tier

Market report Emma Newlands

London’s top-flight index rallied towards the closing bell as it was confirmed that Theresa May would be in post as Prime Minister by tomorrow after rival candidate Andrea Leadsom dropped out of the race.

The FTSE 100 Index soared 92.22 points to 6,682.86, an 11-month high, amid a flurry of political announcements, which helped demystify some post-brexit-vote uncertainty.

The rise saw the top tier technically enter a bull market after closing more than 20 per cent higher than its low of 5,537 on 11 February. Confirmation that Leadsom had pulled out of the contest also handed a boost to sterling, which briefly touched the $1.30 mark, before paring back gains to $1.299.

The London market also pushed higher amid the increasing likelihood of an interestrate cut and a strong performance from mining stocks. Anglo American was the biggest riser, up 8.6 per cent to 808.9p and housebuilders continued on from Friday’s rally, with Barratt Developments up more than 7 per cent to 402p. NEW YORK: On Wall Street, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed at a record high, beating the mark it set last year. The Dow Jones industrial average is just shy of its own record, but the Nasdaq composite index would need to rise 5 per cent to regain the peak it reached last July. The Dow gained 80.19 points, or 0.4 per cent, to close at 18,226.93 while the S&P 500 added 7.26 points, or 0.34 per cent, ending the day at 2,137. The Nasdaq rose 31.88 points, or 0.64 per cent, to finish on 4,988.64. Shares in the luxury fashion retailer surged after it sidelined chief executive Christopher Bailey to arrest falling profits and slowing growth. The staffing firm fell after posting its first-half results, flagging “mixed trading conditions in the period” such as slowdowns in global banking.