The FTSE 100 soared to a fresh intraday record high on Wednesday as hopes of a US/China trade deal boosted sentiment.
London’s leading index was trading 0.5% to the good at the time of writing, touching highs above 9,750.
“A positive mood on Wall Street extended into European markets on Wednesday on increased hopes for a US-China trade deal,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“US indices closed at record levels, with sentiment also supported by reports Nvidia will announce new AI chip supply contracts with major South Korean operators like Samsung and Hyundai.
Last week, we published an article exploring whether Nvidia could hit $200 before it reports earnings in November. We explained that Nvidia’s achievement of this milestone depended on US/China trade talks and the outcome for Nvidia’s exports to China.
Trump’s overnight comments that he would discuss Nvidia’s ‘super-duper’ Blackwell chips with China at the upcoming talks were all the equity bulls needed to send Nvidia through $200 in the US pre-market on Wednesday and towards a $5 trillion valuation.
The FTSE 100 has missed out on several US tech-inspired rallies recently, but not so on Wednesday, with cyclical sectors enjoying the improved sentiment.
“The FTSE 100 built on its own all-time highs this morning, with miners doing a lot of the heavy lifting and positive corporate updates from Next and GSK also contributing,” Russ Mould said.
Next was the FTSE 100’s top riser, surging over 7%, after the retailer yet again defied the negative feeling around the UK to produce sales growth that beat expectations and drove an upgrade of full-year earnings.
“Next seems to have missed the memo on Britain’s slowdown,” said Mark Crouch, market analyst for eToro.
“The British retail giant has nudged up profit guidance for the fourth time in eight months, after third-quarter full-price sales rose an impressive 10.5%. While rivals have spent the year tripping over rising costs and cautious consumers, Next has managed to glide serenely through it all.
“Even more striking is the message behind the numbers. This is a retailer whose shares are up over 40% this year and whose leadership still finds room for a special dividend come January 2026.”
Glencore shares rose 6% after releasing Q3 production figures, which showed a 36% jump in copper production.
Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining were back among the gainers as gold prices rose above $4,000.
Housebuilders were at the bottom of the FTSE 100 leaderboard for the second day running.
The global equity rally will face several hurdles later today, when big tech reports in the US and the Fed releases its interest rate decision.
“A key test of investors’ optimism looks set to come later with the US Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates and earnings reports from Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft.”