Following the US midterms, the FTSE 100 are trading up 57.55 at 7098.23 (1547GMT).
US Midterms
Shares in the London Stock Exchange rallied in the wake of the US midterm elections.
In the first half hour of trading on Wednesday, the FTSE increased by 71 points to 7,112.05.
Neil Wilson of Markets.com said: “No blue wave, no surprise GOP [Republican Party] clean sweep; what we got instead was largely what the market expected,”
“The Democrats have taken the House, whilst the Republicans control the Senate.”
Marks & Spencer (LON: MKS)
Despite announcing lower food and clothing sales, the retailer saw shares creep up 4% in Wednesday’s trading.
Lee Wild, head of the equity strategy at Interactive Investor, said: “The Marks & Spencer PR machine is in full swing and chief executive Steve Rowe is telling investors exactly what they want to hear.”
“The company has been in desperate need of a major overhaul for years and, under a new and more dynamic leadership team, is getting just that. M&S is admitting its shortcomings and promising to deliver what investors have been screaming at it to do for years.”
“Modernising the clothing range, focusing on good quality but affordable ‘must-haves’, and selling more of what people want is reassuring to hear.”
ITV (LON: ITV)
ITV was today’s biggest faller after reporting flat advertising sales. The broadcaster blamed economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit as shares fell 4% this morning.
Chief executive Carolyn McCall said: “We are very focused on executing our strategy to create a stronger, structurally sound business, building on our strong operating performance in the areas of the business which are under our control.”
Wall Street Trading
US stocks also opened higher on the news of midterm elections. The Nasdaq gained 85 points to 7,463.
Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at Spreadex, said: “Despite a whole lot of uncertainty in terms of what a split Congress actually means for the next 2 years of Trump rule, the markets continued to celebrate a broadly unsurprising set of results on Wednesday,”
“Perhaps investors are just happy at the thought of a political deadlock in Washington, the kind which will prevent any apple-cart upsetting legislation getting passed (though there is the worry that a domestically frustrated Trump could now chase a US-China trade war even harder).”
