DAVID MYRDDIN-EVANS
Equities got off to a flying start this week as markets cheered the results of the first round of the French election, with mainstream candidate Emmanuel Macron through to face Marine Le Pen in the final round.
The FTSE 100 rose by 2.1% and the FTSE 250 rose 1.26% to a record high. Markets in France and Europe also rose sharply. Shares were little changed in early trade on Tuesday as they paused for breath.
It was all change from last week when the FTSE 100 was down 2.9% overall – its biggest weekly fall since last year.
The stock-market decline came as the pound strengthened after Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap general election.
Last Wednesday’s 0.5% fall in the FTSE 100 took the blue-chip index into negative territory for the year.
Royal Dutch Shell fell 2.7% to a four-month low, while Burberry plunged 7.8% after reporting weak sales growth – though the luxury goods firm then recovered 1.7% on Thursday.
Royal Bank of Scotland was also 4.9% higher on Wednesday after Chancellor Philip Hammond said the Government was prepared to sell its stake in the bank at a loss.
On Tuesday, the stock market reopened after the Easter break, with the FTSE 100 suffering its biggest oneday drop since last year’s Brexit vote.
That 2.5% fall in the index came amid the pound surging in value following May’s surprise announce- ment of a snap election on June 8.
Sterling’s rise weighed on foreign currency-earning companies, while big falls in the price of iron ore and copper compounded the decline in share prices.
Miners were the worst performers in the wider market drop, with BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Glencore all losing more than 5% in value. The more domestically-focused FTSE 250 index was off 1.2%.