The FTSE 100 has clocked up its longest-ever winning streak in a boost for investors with money tied up in the stock market.
As trade tensions between the US and China showed signs of easing and US President Donald Trump repeated demands for interest rate cuts, London’s blue-chip index raced 1.2 per cent, or 99.55 points, higher to 8596.35.
It was the 15th day of gains – the longest run of consecutive positive trading sessions in history.
The rally, which has seen the Footsie jump 11.9 per cent since April 9, will be welcomed by savers with pensions, Isas and other investments in the stock market.
The index has now clawed back almost all the losses it made in the wake of Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs on April 2 and is now just 275 points off its record close of 8871 in March.
The gains in London were mirrored in Europe yesterday with the Dax index up 2.6 per cent in Frankfurt and the Cac up 2.3 per cent in Paris.
City slickers: London’s blue-chip index raced 1.2 per cent, or 99.55 points, higher to 8596.35
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.5 per cent while the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 1.7 per cent.
The latest moves came after Beijing said it was ‘evaluating’ an offer made by the US to start trade talks. At the same time, Trump called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates after a slowdown in hiring in the US.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 177,000 in April – lower than the 185,000 increase seen in March – in the latest sign the US economy is cooling as the trade war rages.
‘The Fed should lower its rate,’ said Trump. The Bank of England looks set to cut UK rates to 4.25 per cent next week.
Emmanuel Cau, an analyst at Barclays, said signs of a possible thaw in trade tensions were trumping fears of recession. He added: ‘Team Trump’s pivot towards a more conciliatory approach has managed to bring calm back.’
Having scaled record highs in the early days of Trump’s second presidency, markets crashed after he announced tariffs and launched a trade war with China.
The Footsie shed more than 10 per cent of its value in just four days amid fears of a global recession.
But Trump this week said he believed there was ‘a very good chance we’re going to make a deal’ – raising hopes that tit-for-tat tariffs of 145pc on Chinese goods and 125 per cent on the US will be scrapped.
Beijing yesterday fuelled hopes that global economic strife can be avoided, saying the US has ‘expressed a desire to engage in discussions’ before adding: ‘China is currently evaluating this.’
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