Savings and pensions face festive boost as shares ‘bounce’ to an all-time high
MILLIONS of savers and pension-holders were given a shot in the arm yesterday as booming post Brexit vote Britain saw share values surge to an all-time high.
A bounce in FTSE shares gave a shot to pension-holders and savers
A “festive bounce” saw the FTSE 100 shares index make solid gains across the board, rising 0.5 per cent to 7,106.1 points, up 37.9 points and beating the previous high this year on October 10 of 7,097.
The blue-chip index also surged through the previous all-time record close of 7,103.98 reached on April 27, 2015.
Analysts believe that share values could rise yet further, adding billions of pounds to the values of pension pots and other long-term saving investments such as ISAs.
FTSE100 has done surprisingly well since Brexit: Expert
Yesterday’s rally means the FTSE 100 is now 12 per cent higher than on the day of the EU referendum in June, despite warnings from doom-mongers that City prices would crash in the event of a vote to leave.
The FTSE 100 is the star performer today
Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at spread-betters IG, said: “The FTSE 100 is the star performer today”, adding that London’s traders had come back from Christmas with “a festive bounce in their step”.
Shares have continued to soar since Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to kick start the Brexit process by the end of next March.
The blue-chip index also soared above the 2015 record
David Cheetham, market analyst at online trading group XTB, said: “Observers of the markets have for many years noticed a strong propensity for stocks to rise in the period between Christmas and the New Year and this phenomenon appears to be playing out once more.”
He added that falls in the value of the pound against the US dollar and a raft of currencies was also helping the FTSE gain ground.
Yesterday’s climb in share prices was fuelled by mining giants Anglo American and Rio Tinto who both helped push the market higher after both rising more than three per cent.
Chief Market Analyst Chris Beauchamp praised the performance of the FTSE 100
Precious metal stocks Fresnillo and Randgold Resources emerged as the biggest risers on the London market, soaring five per cent and four per cent respectively.
Commodities were helped further by a rise in the cost of crude oil as benchmark Brent ended 0.6 per cent higher at $56.41 a barrel.
But airlines and banks missed out on the festive rally, while a profit warning from Bovis Homes saw the housebuilder suffer share losses in the FTSE 250 Index.