The FTSE 100 once again remains a leader in Europe, although the pullback in oil and precious metals has meant that commodity stocks are lagging behind as financials take the lead. Strong gains for the likes of HSBC, Barclays, and NatWest bring a recovery from a sector that has been hit by Trump's recent move to limit credit card interest rates to 10%.
The idea that executives, as a class, are individually contributing over 100 times more in value than the workers they rely on is simply not credible.
The FTSE 100 soared 1% to fresh all-time highs on Tuesday morning, almost touching 9,900 as global equity markets enjoy a relief rally on hopes the protracted US government shutdown would end soon, whilst a bounce in AI stocks lifted sentiment across the board. The blue chip index had rallied yesterday to hit 9,800 for the first time, as a broad risk-on tone took hold over following the Senate vote on Sunday, while there are some FTSE-specific factors at work too.
Metlen employs nearly 10,000 people in 40 countries and moved its primary listing from Athens to London in August this year. With a total value of over 5 billion, it was the fastest company to be admitted to the FTSE 100 list of the UK's most valuable listed firms. The move comes after some big UK companies quit the London Stock Exchange to sell their shares on foreign markets.
The company says its new harmonised listing structure will merely make it easier for those US funds that aren't allowed to own American depositary receipts (ADRs, a wrapper provided by a handful of banks for US investors) to get their hands on full-fat AstraZeneca stock. A global listing for global investors in a global company, as the cheerful corporate spin put it. But this definitely is not a moment to accentuate the positive.
Yesterday, Antofagasta led a charge by miners on the FTSE 100 to lift the index out of the early morning slump, shooting up about 9% after Freeport-McMoRan set out the production impact from the suspension of its Grasberg Block Cave mine in Indonesia, the world's second largest copper mine. The firm said it would lower third-quarter consolidated sales by approximately 4% for copper and 6% for gold compared to its July estimates.
Phillip Ingram warned on Sky News that should Iran close the Strait of Hormuz, there will be an enormous global 'economic shock.' He stated that such a closure would dwarf the economic effects witnessed during the Ukraine war.
