he FTSE 100 was today set to build on yesterday’s strong recovery, holding onto the ground above 7000 points as another turbulent week comes to an end.
Wednesday’s battering was followed by a 1% recovery on Thursday and today the FTSE was set to open up another 12 points at 7027. Not much of a rally, but a consolidation in positive territory nonetheless.
Wall Street last night snapped its three day losing streak with a positive finish which spilled over this morning into Japan, where the Nikkei was up 0.7%. However, Hong Kong and China had modest falls, tempering some of the optimism in Europe.
Key to today’s trading could be economic data on retail sales, which have been recovering steadily since plunging more than 8% in January. April’s figures should come in at a positive 4.5% on the month and a chunky 36.8% gain on last year. The latter figure really should be shrugged off as it compares with the grimmest days of the Covid lockdown in 2020.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson pointed out that the British Retail Consortium survey on the High Street has already shown a…
