By Patrick Munnelly, Market Strategist, Tickmill
On Thursday, the UK’s FTSE 100 index extended the previous day’s gains, ending up 57.85 points at 7,646.05.
FTSE Extends Yesterday’s Gains, Weaker GBP & Miners Shine
The weaker pound contributed to the gains in the FTSE 100, which has a high concentration of exporters. The pound weakened after data showed domestic inflation easing more than expected, causing traders to adjust their expectations for the Bank of England’s terminal rate.
However, traders are still betting on the Bank of England to raise its lending rate by a quarter percent at the next month’s meeting. BoE Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden commented that despite the easing inflation, there are still risks of longer-term stickiness.
FTSE 100 biggest movers
The positive momentum has also been driven by a rise in mining stocks due to higher metal prices. Industrial metal miners experienced a 3.2% gain as most base metals saw increased prices, driven by short covering following a report suggesting the Chinese government may introduce supportive measures for the real estate market.
Anglo American LON:AAL, a global mining company, topped the index with a 3.9% increase after reporting a significant 42% surge in first-half copper production, mining peer Glencore LON:GLEN sits in the second to top spot gaining 3.67% on the session.
On the negative side of the ledger sits Entain LON:ENT, the london based betting and gambling operator sits at the bottom of the blue chip index today shedding 2.77% as the firm announces current CFO Sam Allanson is set to move to head up its Rank Interactive division, this maybe a concern for investors as Entain is currently involved in some sizeable acquisition activity, after recently announcing a £200m deal to acquire Angstrom Sports.
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