Lucy Harley-McKeown
FTSE 100 and Europe up as US builds on record rally in early trade
The FTSE 100 and European stocks rose on Wednesday in London, while US indices build on record highs in early trade. The moves upwards follow testimony by Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell at the Senate which bolstered confidence in impending rate cuts.
By the afternoon in London, the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was up 0.6%. The more domestically focused FTSE 250 (^FTMC) rose 1.1%.
In Europe, Germany's DAX (^GDAXI) rose 0.9% and the CAC (^FCHI) snapped a losing streak, to trade 0.9% higher in Paris. French stocks have been volatile following the snap legislative elections.
The pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) rose 0.9%.
US stocks continued the positive note, with the Dow (^DJI) ticking up 0.2%, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) up 0.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) rising 0.5%.
Record high closes for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Tuesday were fuelled by gains by Nvidia and positive noises in Powell's testimony about the direction of the jobs market.
Traders were also looking to Powell's second day of testimony for clues, as he stuck to the letter on the central bank's line.
Barratt Developments (BDEV.L) was among the top fallers in the FTSE 100 on Wednesday following a trading statement which disappointed investors. It closed around 0.9% lower.
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