At the close: Markets up as even the weather can’t dent City spirits
Traders clearly brought their umbrellas to work today as a London downpour and a spot of cloudy economic data was not enough to stop European markets from posting an impressive gain for the day.
The FTSE 100 closed up 0.7 per cent at 6,156.65, the Cac 40 in France put on a modest 0.2 per cent to reach 4,331.57, while the Dax soared back past the crucial 10,000 mark to close up 0.55 per cent on the day.
Capita was the top performer, up by 5.27 per cent to 1,078p after a decent trading update. Anglo American, Standard Chartered and Barclays were the other top performers – all adding at least three per cent.
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While it was drizzly in the City, the good news from Greece clearly put the shine on the markets today. The Greek stock markets reached a high for the year, with the Athens Composite bouncing up 3.2 per cent to 629.29 after the Greek parliament passed controversial reforms to the tax and pensions system.
Oil also recovered part of yesterday's losses, with benchmark Brent Crude ending up three per cent, just shy of $45 a barrel.
Joshua Mahony, market anaylst at IG, said:
A strong day for crude prices has helped the FTSE 100 to regain a substantial amount of yesterday’s losses, despite yet another disappointing data release for the UK economy. Recent volatility for stocks has come amid a widespread sell-off in commodities, with US dollar strength reviving fears of a substantial downturn.
The recent resilience for crude prices has surprised many, with today’s gains coming despite an announcement from Kuwait that they are seeking to raise output by 50 per cent in the next four years. Despite today’s rally, the near three week low set overnight is an indication that perhaps this recent strength may come under pressure once more in the coming weeks.
The UK posted its largest first quarter trade deficit since 2008 this morning, but traders still saw a bit of value in the pound, as it climbed higher against both the dollar and the euro. A quid will now fetch you $1.4457 or €1.2695.