The FTSE 100 showed signs of optimism on Wednesday, rising to its highest point in over a week. The vast majority of constituents traded in positive territory.
Notable risers include Lloyds, which continued its march higher to the best levels for over six years and confirmed the breakout of a trading range that had held since the beginning of the pandemic. Deutsche Bank’s price target upgrade helped propel Lloyds above 70p for the first time since 2018. Deutsche Bank has a price target of 88p for Lloyds.
ConvaTec was the top riser, jumping 6%, after the medical solutions group reported a 23% increase in operating profit for 2024.
The FTSE 100’s commodity-related components helped lift the index on Wednesday, with the miners ticking higher on reports of Trump tariffs targeting copper.
“Copper prices have shot up, as the metal is caught in the President’s sights,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Mining stocks have helped drive the FTSE 100 higher in early trade after copper futures jumped around 4%, sparked by the President ordering an investigation into extra duties on imports.
“The plan would be to spark higher US production and put a dent in China’s huge share of the global market. Copper is sought after as a key component in renewable energy systems, for wind, solar power and electric vehicles for example, and prices have been steadily rising this year, after dipping back at the end of 2024.”
Copper pure play Antofagasta rose 2.8%, while Glencore added 2%.
Nvidia
Today’s major event will be release of Nvidia’s earnings after the bell in the US tonight. The company is led the AI rally and demand for its chips is probably the single largest barometer of momentum in the sector.
“The big news awaiting the markets later today is the quarterly earnings report from Nvidia. Such is its weighting and its importance to the all-pervasive AI theme, the results could have a significant impact on market sentiment,” explained AJ Bell’s Russ Mould.
Although the FTSE 100 doesn’t include any stocks directly associated with AI, sentiment will be impacted by Nvidia’s results and could set the tone for trade during the rest of the week.