Britain's FTSE 100 index has surged to a new all-time high of 10,123 points, breaking through the symbolic 10,000 mark for the first time in its history. The blue-chip index jumped 120 points, or 1.2%, on Tuesday as a New Year rally gained fresh momentum.
The breakthrough came just one day after the FTSE 100 first closed above 10,000 points on Monday. Strong performances from pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and retail chain Next drove the latest gains. AstraZeneca's shares climbed more than 5%, while Next soared about 5% after raising its full-year profit outlook for the fifth time following better-than-expected festive sales.
Classic sectors back in favour
The rally reflects a shift in investor appetite towards traditional income-generating stocks. Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said markets are «surfing a wave of investor optimism».
She noted that «classy and classic sectors like finance, pharma, big oil and high street retail stalwarts are back in fashion, with investors looking for consistent, income driving stocks as a companion to the 'jam tomorrow' tech titans which have dominated US markets over the past couple of years».
The surge also lifted other London-listed retailers including Burberry and Tesco. Investors appear focused on stable returns rather than high-growth tech stocks that dominated recent years.
Geopolitical concerns take back seat
Markets have largely shrugged off geopolitical tensions that created headlines throughout last year. Hewson explained that «last year might have provided no end of worrying headlines but markets took most of those geopolitical tensions in their stride, and current questions about what the White House may or may not be considering are broadly being overlooked, for now».
Even political turbulence in Venezuela failed to dampen investor sentiment, though it did boost demand for defence stocks and gold prices.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
