FTSE smashes through to new highs

Joshua Mahony MSTA Scope Markets

The FTSE has spent much of the day creating new highs, pushing higher thanks to recent sterling weakness

FTSE 100 hits new highs in style
Markets wave goodbye to Obama and monetary stimulus
Morrisons provides welcome boost for supermarkets

The FTSE 100 has again had an outstanding day, with the index gaining from the first minute to the last as it reached new all-time highs once more. The fact that we are seeing the index hit these new highs in such a fearless manner says a lot about the potential for further gains. Interestingly we have seen both Trump and May providing positive news for the respective US and UK indices, yet for very different reasons. While Trump has boosted US stocks by setting out a positive outlook for the future, the strength of the FTSE has been largely down to the pound devaluation associated with fears over a hard Brexit outcome.

President Obama bids farewell to his eight years in power today with a speech in Chicago. Today’s farewell address marks not only the end of his tenure, but also a complete shift from a monetary policy-focused market, towards one reliant upon fiscal stimulus. Trump will do well to maintain the status quo, with Obama leaving the economy and stock markets in rude health.

Morrisons may have just signalled the end of the tough times for supermarkets today, with a hugely encouraging set of numbers that marks its best Christmas for seven years. There were fears about the inability of firms to pass on higher import costs caused by the weak pound, yet it seems that we may have turned a corner on the recent price wars in the grocery sector.

Author

Joshua Mahony MSTA

Scope Markets

Joshua Mahony is Chief Markets Analyst at Scope Markets. Joshua has a particular focus on macro-economics and technical analysis, built up over his 11 years of experience as a market analyst across three brokers.

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