FTSE buoyed by trade war ceasefire

The FTSE 100 surged as traders kicked off December by celebrating a ceasefire in the Uschina trade war. London’s top flight added 82.17 points, or 1.18 per cent, to close at 7,062.41 as miners led the charge.

Michael Hewson, analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “European markets have had a decent start to the month, after an escalation to the US China trade dispute was deferred well into next year.

“Some have suggested that it is premature to get too carried away and in some respects that is correct, but for the here and now, and in the absence of anything else it is still a positive outcome, and could drive some strong gains in the weeks ahead.”

Antofagasta and Evraz were two of the day’s biggest winners, rising 62.8p to 863.2p and 34.7p to 488.8p respectively.

At the bottom of the index was Glaxosmithkline, which unveiled its sale of Horlicks and a clutch of other health drink brands in India to Unilever. The group is also to acquire oncology-focused US pharma business Tesaro. Shares closed down 123.6p at 1.498p.

On the FTSE 250, shares in travel firm Thomas Cook continued their slide as investors fret over its long-term prospects. Shares slid 24.46 per cent to close at 23.64p. And Mccoll’s shares fell 35.35p to 83.4p after the convenience store operator warned over profits.

The pound, meanwhile, came under selling pressure as Brexit once again took its toll.

Sterling shed 0.3 per cent versus the US dollar to sit at $1.274 at the London market close.

Against the euro, the pound was also down 0.3 per cent at €1.122.