S&P 500 breaks through 4,000 mark as FTSE 100 pushes higher
The S&P 500 broke through the 4,000 mark for the first time today as buoyant tech stocks and optimism about reopenings boosted Wall Street.
The index was up 0.8 per cent 4,006 points shortly before 5pm. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq also rose 0.4 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively.
The rapid rollout of vaccinations in the US and a huge economic stimulus package are driving optimism about a recovery from the pandemic.
This helped offset new figures that showed a surprise increase in the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits last week.
FTSE shakes off Deliveroo slump
It comes after the FTSE 100 clawed back some of yesterday’s losses as it eyed economic data ahead of the Easter weekend.
London’s blue-chip index closed 0.35 per cent higher at 6,737 points.
The FTSE is riding high on the optimism seen in the US markets after President Joe Biden unveiled a $2 trillion infrastructure investment plan.
After a disappointing quarter tech stocks rallied to lift the Nasdaq up 1.5 per cent yesterday. The benchmark S&P 500 closed down 0.4 per cent, but up 5.8 per cent for the quarter, as energy and financial stocks weighed on the index.
The quieter start to the day will offer some respite for investors after a volatile day of trading on Wednesday following Deliveroo’s disastrous IPO.
Shares in the delivery firm plunged 30 per cent on its debut and there was no sign of a rebound this morning as shares dipped one per cent.
Industrial and consumer discretionary stocks led London’s biggest gainers this morning, notably BAE Systems, Relx, Next and Compass Group.
Retailer Next is up more than three per cent this morning after unexpectedly lifting its central profit guidance for the year after posting pre-tax profit of £342m for the year.
This afternoon all eyes will be on oil stocks ahead of the OPEC meeting later today. Crude oil prices edged higher this morning clawing back some of the losses in recent days.
It is widely expected to leave production targets unchanged despite Iranian crude oil experts to China and increased Covid restrictions in Europe.