FTSE 100 climbs above 8,000 as index nears all-time high

The FTSE 100 breached the 8,000 mark this morning and briefly eclipsed its previous record closing price as it inched closer and closer to its all-time high.

The capital’s premier index was up 0.69 per cent at 8,007.11 around 9:30am, just a few points off its all-time intraday high of 8,047.07 set 16 February 2023.

It briefly reached as high as 8,014 this morning, higher than its highest closing price of 8,012.53 also recorded last February.

Today, the FTSE 100 was lifted by a strong performance from miners and oil majors who benefited from higher commodity prices.

Fresnillo was up as far as 6.8 per cent while BP, Shell, Glencore and Anglo American all gained between two and three per cent.

So far this year, the FTSE 100 has gained 3.7 per cent despite the fact that markets are now pricing in fewer interest rate cuts than at the beginning of the year.

At the beginning of the year, investors were nearly certain that the Fed would start cutting interest rates in March, with as many as six rate cuts pencilled in for the year.

Similarly, the Bank of England was expected to cut interest rates five times, as inflation had been much lower than expected.

Now both the Fed and Bank of England are only expected to cut interest rates three times, but this repricing has not stood in the way of the market rally.

In March, the bull run was given fresh impetus after the Fed’s latest forecasts showed three rate cuts were still anticipated despite the fact that inflation and growth were expected to be higher.

The Bank of England’s most recent rate decision was also seen as dovish after the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) two hawkish outliers voted to hold interest rates rather than hike.

Markets are coalescing around the view that June is the most likely month for the global cutting cycle to begin.