Lucy Harley-McKeown
FTSE 100 closes on fresh high and US stocks buoyant as earnings season kicks into gear
The FTSE 100, European and US stocks were tracking higher by the the time Europe closed on Tuesday, spelling a positive start to the week as geopolitical tensions unwind.
The FTSE was trading at record levels — reaching 8,076 points on Tuesday morning — heading past its previous high of 8,047 seen in February 2023. US stocks ticked into the green ahead of a raft of company updates.
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was up 0.2% by the end of the trading day, at around 8,041 points. The DAX (^GDAXI) in Germany rose 1.4% and the CAC (^FCHI) in Paris was 0.7% higher.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 1.1% after staging a comeback from a six-day run of losses the previous session. The Dow (^DJI) was up roughly 0.6%, while contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) also stepped up 0.4% by the end of the day in London.
Tesla (TSLA) is the stock to watch as it reports earnings after the bell on Monday. The EV maker has suffered a dramatic couple of weeks, including a headcount cut and a price reduction on some of its key models. It was up around 2.1% by the close in London.
The positive sentiment in the UK came as analysts look to August for the Bank of England's first interest rate cut. Markets are now pricing in two base rate cuts by the end of the year.
The moves higher also came following fresh data from the Office for National Statistics, that show borrowing hit around £121bn in the financial year just ended — a decrease of £8bn on the previous year. Borrowing tracked £6.6bn higher than forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Spending rose about £58bn due to the bill for public services and benefits outstripping large reductions in interest payable and energy support scheme costs.
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