The FTSE 100 reached a contemporary document excessive in early commerce this morning because the blue-chip index’s export-heavy members had been buoyed by sharp in a single day beneficial properties on Wall Avenue.

The index — greater than two-thirds of whose constituents earn the vast majority of their revenues in abroad markets — rose 0.8 per cent to an all-time intra-day excessive of seven,925.02, surpassing the earlier peak of seven,906.58 hit simply final week.

That document had stood for nearly 5 years, since Might 2018, as long-suffering buyers within the UK’s heavyweight shares will know all too nicely.

BP once more led the cost, with the oil big’s shares up one other 3.2 per cent, or 16.7p, to 533p, as yesterday’s report of document $27.7 billion earnings outweighed any considerations over the potential political fallout of a retreat from its industry-leading local weather targets.

The midcap FTSE 250 index, which is extra UK-focused, rose 0.9 per cent to consolidate its place above 20,000 factors for the primary time since August final 12 months.

The temper carried throughout into Europe, the place all sectors had been ticking larger because the STOXX Europe 600 reached its highest degree since April 2022: once more oil and gasoline was the driving force, with bumper outcomes from France’s Whole and Norway’s Equinor.

The wave of optimism adopted feedback final evening from Jerome Powell, the boss of America’s central financial institution, which had been interpreted as being much less hawkish over future rate of interest rises than had been anticipated.

Requested a number of occasions whether or not the shocking addition of 517,000 new jobs to the US payroll in January would drive the Fed to push its benchmark rate of interest larger than the anticipated 5 per cent to five.25 per cent vary, he demurred.

Yung-Yu Ma, chief funding strategist at BMO Wealth Administration, stated: “The market is in a little bit of a extra comfy place after chairman Powell’s feedback.”

Fears that the UK is getting ready to a recession additionally abated barely at this time, with analysis by the Nationwide Institute of Financial and Social Analysis suggesting the financial system could swerve two back-to-back quarters of contraction and put up 0.2 per cent development this 12 months.

It’s a significantly extra optimistic outlook than that supplied by the Financial institution of England final week, which predicted a shallower however nonetheless protracted recession, and the gloomy forecast from the Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF), which stated Britain can be the one main financial system to endure a contraction this 12 months.

The pound recovered from a week-long retreat which yesterday noticed it dip under $1.20 to commerce up round 0.4 per cent in opposition to the greenback, at $1.21, and a shade larger in opposition to the euro at simply shy of €1.13.

Susannah Streeter, senior funding and markets analyst Hargreaves Lansdown, stated: “GDP knowledge has already shocked on the upside and customers and firms have largely been extra resilient than anticipated. Nonetheless, for thousands and thousands of decrease earnings households, the nippiness on their funds shall be very actual within the months to come back, even when the financial system escapes a technical recession.”