Trump health progress sees FTSE 100 rise
THE FTSE 100 edged into the green at the end of trading following an improvement in sentiment after President Trump left hospital.
Caution over the US president’s condition saw the European markets open lower, but ticked higher after positive statements filtered out of the US
However, the London markets were the slowest to recover as another jump in virus case numbers in England weighed on confidence.
London’s top flight closed seven points higher at 5,949.94 at the end of trading yesterday.
Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said: “Led by the Dow Jones, the European indices all improved as the day went on – though that didn’t mean all that much for the FTSE.
“Now that Trump, irresponsibly or otherwise, is out of hospital and back at the White House, hopes appear to have been stirred that the Democrats and Republicans can finally get a new Covid-19 stimulus package over the line. This allowed the Eurozone indices to stretch their legs. The FTSE, sadly, lagged behind its peers, essentially flat, although that is an improvement on where it was at the start of the day, however, when it was down more than half a percent.”
The other major European markets sprang into the green yesterday afternoon on the back of positive
7 Points rise in the FTSE 100 index in
London last night
messages from President Trump himself.
The German Dax increased by 0.61 per cent, while the French Cac moved 0.8 per cent higher.
Across the Atlantic, the Dow Jones moved higher while the S&P 500 was broadly flat having already benefited from optimism regarding the President’s health at the end of Monday’s session. Meanwhile, sterling had its latest day of gains against the dollar as it continued to take advantage over the week-long weak spell for the US greenback.
The pound rose by 0.06% versus the US dollar at 1.294 and was down 0.5% against the euro at 1.098.
It was a strong session for housebuilders, with Barratt and Persimmon among those to rise after the latest set of construction PMI figures came in ahead of analyst predictions.
Elsewhere, security giant G4S nudged 0.9p higher to 201.9p after it was awarded a £300 million Government contract to run a new megaprison for 10 years.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Rolls-Royce, up 26.6p at 150p, IAG, up 6.46p at 98p, Whitbread, up 123p at 2,312p, and Intercontinental Hotels Group, up 229p at 4,307p.
The biggest fallers of the day were Ocado, down 237p at 2,431p, Rentokil, down 19.8p at 523p, Croda, down 174p at 6,152p, and Pennon, down 28p at 1,032p.