he FTSE 100 was set to fall today as investors took a cautious view on trading despite strong economic news from the US.
As Wall Street raced to new highs on Monday following news of a stronger-than-expected performance from its service industries last month, the FTSE was expected to start the week slowly, with a fall of 27.8 points to 6770.7.
Part of that reflected concerns that US stocks would be unable to maintain the 1.5% leaps taken last night by the S&P 500 and Nikkei, which hit new records as share prices gained across the board.
UK investors remain poised between optimists hoping for a more rapid opening up of the economy and pessimists fearing that companies in locked-down sectors like hotels and leisure will find it hard to recover when they reopen.
Even if they have a bumper spring and summer, there are fears that many firms will be unable to bring in the cashflow they need to cope with the welter of bills that have been piling up over the past year. Government support plans will come to an end later in the year, leaving many facing what they fear will be a cliff edge…
