Closing post
Time to wrap up; here are today’s main stories:
FTSE 100 hits record closing high
Valentine’s Day is a time for flirting. But after eyeing up the landmark 8,000 point level today, the FTSE 100 index of blue-chip shares couldn’t quite make it.
Instead, the FTSE 100 has closed just 6 points higher at 7953.85 points, which is a new closing high. We also saw a new intraday high this morning, of 7996 points.
Stocks couldn’t hold those earlier gains, after US inflation didn’t cool as much as expected in January.
Sheldon Lyn, partner at McKinsey & Co, says inflation will continue to influence spending:
“CPI results continue to deliver a mixed bag, up 0.5% in January month-over month after a 0.1% increase in December. From a consumer perspective, we anticipate these still elevated numbers will continue to shape spending decisions – be it a sustained shift to lower priced alternatives, deal hunting, or making choices to defer certain big-ticket purchases.
Last year, we saw consumers taking an “all of the above” approach as the reality that inflation wasn’t transitory set in.
Coca-Cola HBC, the bottling firm, was the top FTSE 100 riser – gaining 5%. It was followed by Vodafone, which rose 3.4% after US cable company Liberty Global took a 5% stake.
Another telecoms group, BT, was the third-highest rise, up 3.1%.
Michael Hewson, analyst at CMC Markets, explains:
The FTSE100 has continued to make new record highs today coming to within touching distance of the 8,000 level, before slipping back after US CPI came in slightly hotter than expected.
The telecoms sector helped to drive today’s move to new highs at 7,996 after Liberty Global announced it had taken a 4.9% stake in Vodafone, saying that the recent share price declines meant that the business was undervalued.
This has also translated into gains for the wider sector with BT Group also higher, given that it has been subject to stake building from outside investors, with Altice being one of the biggest.
Updated
