FTSE 100 edges up as Europe rises on trade deal hopes
The FTSE 100 climbed half a per cent this morning as European stocks rose on hopes of a US-China trade deal.
London’s blue-chip index was up 0.49 per cent by 10.30am to 7,438 points with traders also awaiting a closely-watched election poll that is due to be published tonight.
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Germany’s Dax index rose 0.51 per cent, France’s CAC 40 index ticked up 0.21 per cent, and the pan-European Euronext 100 climbed 0.23 per cent.
Investors were buoyed by comments from US President Donald Trump yesterday that Washington was in the “final throes” of reaching a phase-one trade agreement with China.
Earlier yesterday, Beijing said negotiators from both countries had reached had agreed to resolve “relevant problems”.
Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at trading platform IG, said: “There is optimism that such a deal can be agreed, yet the length of time taken, and lack of progress tempers some of the bullishness evident throughout global markets.”
Biggest risers on the FTSE 100
| Company | Rise | Price |
| Imperial Brands | 2.26 per cent | 1,707.2p |
| Sage Group | 2.21 per cent | 767.8p |
| British American Tobacco | 2.11 per cent | 3,049p |
| Pearson | 1.95 per cent | 668.8p |
| Hiscox | 1.89 per cent | 1,345p |
Biggest fallers on the FTSE 100
| Company | Fall | Price |
| Fresnillo | 3.33 per cent | 557p |
| Compass Group | 1.75 per cent | 1,882p |
| Rolls Royce | 1.73 per cent | 728.2p |
| JD Sports | 1.65 per cent | 774.6p |
| Johnson Matthey | 1.33 per cent | 2,975p |
Sterling was trading roughly flat against the dollar, at $1.287.
Investors trading UK assets await a major election survey that will this evening be published by market research firm Yougov at 10pm.
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The so-called multilevel regression and post-stratification (MRP) poll accurately predicted a hung parliament ahead of the 2017 election, countering most expectations of a significant Conservative majority.
David Cheetham, chief market analyst at trading platform XTB, said: “In all likelihood the markets will treat this as the best guess yet and therefore we expect an increase in volatility for GBP pairs when the results are released.”