London market recovery continues following grim start to the week
London’s main market continued to rise on Thursday, after rebounding yesterday following a disastrous Tuesday, in which the market fell two per cent in one day.
By mid-afternoon the FTSE 100 was up 0.42 per cent, boosted by mining and industrials stocks, although the gains were capped by a stronger pound.
Meanwhile, the mid-cap FTSE 250 shot up one per cent towards the end of the day.
Elsewhere, U.S. stocks dropped on reports President Joe Biden planned to almost double the capital gains tax, news analysts said provided an excuse to take profits in a directionless market ahead of big tech’s earnings next week.
The three main indexes on Wall Street also fell on reports that Biden planned to raise income taxes on the wealthy, a proposal some said would be hard to pass in Congress.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.94 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 0.92 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.94 per cent.
Market movers
The morning’s biggest winner was industrial software giant Aveva, who rose 4.3 per cent, followed by credit checker Experian, up by 2.6 per cent.
Online grocer Ocado and Rolls-Royce also rose 2.6 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively.
Mining firm Fresnillo was the morning’s biggest faller, dropping by 3.7 per cent, followed by Antofagasta’s 2.6 per cent hit.
Meanwhile, Standard Life Aberdeen and British Land both dipped by 2.1 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively.
Around the world
Elsewhere, Asian stocks rose on Thursday, extending a rebound in global markets following a sharp selloff earlier this week.
Japan led the gains, with the Nikkei 225 rising 2.4 per cent after sliding heavily in each of the last two sessions.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rallied 0.5 per cent, but mainland China shares were weaker, weighed down by persistent worries over tensions with the US.
Meanwhile, European stocks pointed to higher opens, with Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.7 per cent.