Closing post
Time to wrap up….
The FTSE 100 index has closed at a record high tonight, cementing its recovery from the trade war slump two months ago.
The blue-chip share index ended the day at a new closing high of 8,884 points, shrugging off weak UK economic data earlier today.
Analysts said the London market was benefitting as investors sought alternatives to US stocks.
The dollar has sunk to its lowest in more than three years, after Donald Trump’s threatened to impose new unilateral tariffs on US trading partners.
The UK economy contracted in April by 0.3% as businesses cut jobs and cancelled investment plans in response to higher taxes and the uncertainty created by Donald Trump’s tariff war.
There were also signs that the trade war had hurt the UK economy in April, with a record drop in UK exports to the US.
A leading thinktank has warned that Britain is on track to become a “National Health State” where half of all public spending is allocated to the NHS and social care by the end of the decade.
Tesco has reported a jump in sales, lifted by demand for its upmarket Finest range.
VodafoneThree, the newly formed leader in the UK’s mobile market, is aiming to more than double its broadband business by 2034 as it pledged to create thousands of jobs and upgrade its network.
The discount retail chain Poundland is expected to close dozens of its stores after it was sold to the investment company Gordon Brothers for £1.
The UK’s recent trade deals may also have helped push the stock market higher.
The Financial Times reports:
“Investors have been allocating away from the US, and so Europe and the UK have benefited from that,” said Charles Hall, head of research at UK investment bank Peel Hunt.
“We’ve got an improving economy, and we’re seen as having a more stable political situation than a lot of other companies,” he added.
Trade agreements with the US, EU and India in recent weeks had also been “helpful in terms of sentiment”, added Hall.
