he FTSE 100 was set to pause for breath today after Londonshares rallied with their biggest daily gains in two months on Wednesday.
Having leaped 116 points, or 1.7%, to finish comfortably above the 7000 mark yesterday, traders were predicting a slow start to the session this morning. Futures markets indicated the FTSE would open up 6 points at 7047.
Even with such a small gain, that would still mean the FTSE hitting new 12 month highs.
Miners, banks and other recovery stocks were in favour in the previous session, driving the FTSE higher thanks to the UK index’s heavy weighting in such traditional sectors.
It remains to be seen how long investors will be willing to commit to backing shares as markets remain skittish. It was only Tuesday that shares fell sharply after US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen warned interest rates may have to rise.
Here in the UK, the Bank of England announces its monthly decisions on monetary policy at noon, with the expectation being that it will leave interest rates and the asset purchase scheme on hold for another month.
However, it could well bump up…
