MARKET REPORT

GLOBAL markets have scaled record heights as investors cheered US President Donald Trump’s pledge to slash taxes and unleash an infrastructure spending spree.

More than £30bn was added to the value of Britain’s blue chip companies as the FTSE 100 Index soared 119.46 points to a record all-time closing high of 7,382.9.

Across the Atlantic, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was also soaring, as the US President’s warmly-received speech to Congress inspired the index rise above the 21,000 points mark for the first time in its history.

In UK stocks, Irish construction firm CRH and equipment rental company Ashtead were the biggest risers amid hopes that their US businesses will receive a boost from President Trump’s policies. Ashtead group jumped more than 5%, or 95p to 1,751p, while CRH climbed 134p to 2,854p.

Broadcaster ITV surged 9.2p to 211.7p as pre-tax profits held up despite a Brexitinduced drop in full-year advertising revenues.

The group, home to shows such as The X Factor and Broadchurch, said net advertising revenues dropped 3% to £1.67bn amid “political and economic uncertainty” and cautioned it expects declines of around 6% in the first four months of 2017.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were Ashtead up 95p to 1,751p, CRH up 134p to 2,854p, Glencore up 15.7p to 337.75p, Next up 176p to 4,003p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 Index were Royal Mail down 7.6p to 407p, Babcock International down 11.5p to 936.5p, Randgold Resources down 85p to 7,425p, Centrica down 2.4p to 224.5p.