Setting aside worries of the spread of the ‘Indian’ covid variant, and what that will mean for the intended end of lockdown on June 21st, the FTSE enjoyed the sunshine as the month got underway.
Climbing 0.7% after the bell, the UK index benefited from a strong performance from its miners and, after news of surging house prices thanks to the stamp duty holiday rush, some nice gains from the likes of Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV) and Persimmon (LON:PSN).
The FTSE is now trading just short of 7,080; finish the day at that price, and it would be its best close in over a fortnight. However, it spiked above 7,050 multiple times in the final week or so of May, but was unable to build any sense of momentum, wilting at the closing bell each day. If it can avoid the same fate this afternoon, the FTSE could find itself turning a corner.
The DAX was even stronger this Tuesday, rising 160 points – or 1.1% – to sit withing 20 points of 15,600. The German bourse only needs to squeeze a bit more juice out of investors to re-hit the all-time highs struck last week.
The CAC was also riding high, its near half a percent increase pushing it to a recent peak a fraction below 6,480.
Against a backdrop of the lowest covid rates in a year in the States, the Dow Jones is set to return from Memorial Day with a 200-point-plus increase, one that would leave it at its best price since May 11th, and only 320 points from its 36,000 all-time high.
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