The FTSE has completed its recovery from the sharp sell-off seen earlier this year, with UK blue-chips ending the session at their highest ever level. The benchmark has enjoyed an incredible run higher over the last 8 weeks with a rally in excess of 13%. Barring a dramatic reversal on Friday the market will have posted 8 consecutive weekly gains and there has been very little by the way of any pullbacks during this rise.
There have been two real catalysts for this move; an improvement in global risk sentiment and a sizable depreciation in the pound. Markets were caught off guard when volatility made a stunning comeback in February, with rapid declines seen in stock benchmarks around the globe. However, while the global stock market rally is long in the tooth it appears not ready to give up the ghost just yet with not only shares in London hitting record highs but strong moves higher seen almost everywhere with Russell 2000, a US small-cap index, joining the FTSE in reaching new record territory and the French CAC40 hitting its highest level since 2008. With around ¾ of FTSE 100 revenues coming in non-sterling terms, the recent fall in the pound after the BoE failed to deliver a May hike has also been a significant contributory factor in this rally.
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