Financials boost FTSE 100 as City leans into quiet summer period

A rally among financial stocks boosted London markets today as the City leant into the quieter summer period.

The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index climbed 0.57 per cent to 7,482.37 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, jumped 0.33 per cent to 20,118.44 points.

August is typically an extremely quiet period for markets, with most earnings announcements done and traders heading on holiday.

“The summer is supposed to be a quiet time for markets as many people are sitting on the beach, rather than glued to a screen trading stocks and shares,” Danni Hewson, financial analyst at AJ Bell, said.

“So far, this summer is proving to be a decent session, and one that will provide a nice surprise when people get back to their desks after a bit of sun, sand and sea,” she added.

Fund manager Hargreaves Lansdown shot up over seven per cent and to the top of the FTSE 100 after results at the back end of last week revealed it smashed profit forecasts.

Abrdn and Legal and General, also fund managers, supported those gains by adding 3.47 per cent and 1.91 per cent respectively.

Investors largely shook off a dire recession warning from the Bank of England last week, but are bracing for fresh GDP figures on Friday to show the economy contracted just over one per cent in June.

The pound gained ground on the greenback, strengthening 0.1 per cent to buy $1.2084.

Wall Street opened lower, while European stocks closed higher.