FTSE hits new 56-month high on miner rally
THE FTSE 100 climbed to a new four and a half year high yesterday, driven up by a rally in mining stocks.
The index closed up 44.78 – 0.7 per cent – at 6,339.19, its best close since May 2008, with 13 of these close-to-45-points coming from gains among miners.
The biggest rises came from Anglo American, who added three per cent despite a £2.5bn writedown, Kazakhmys and Evraz.
This means the UK’s top 100 firms have added some 7.5 per cent to their combined values over just a month since 2013 began.
At the same time, the euro rose to touch a 14-month high of just below $1.35, meaning the currency has put on two per cent versus the dollar so far this year, despite the ongoing pressure of the bloc’s economic catastrophe.
Yesterday also saw Brent and US crude oil prices climb – Brent gained $0.99 to reach $114.47 a barrel while US crude climbed $1.34 to touch $97.79 per barrel.
Shares also continued to climb across the pond, with the Dow Jones industrial average up over half a per cent, closing last night at 13,954.42.