The FTSE 100 jumped on the coattails of a US rally on Thursday after the NASDAQ broke through the milestone 20,000 mark to fresh record highs.

US tech shares have proved they still have the power to lift global investor sentiment. Strong sessions for Tesla and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, helped propel the NASDAQ to record levels, sending a wave of optimism through equity markets.

Alphabet shares rose after the tech giant announced its latest AI development.

“Alphabet unveiled Gemini 2.0 yesterday, its shiny new family of AI models that promises to be faster and smarter,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Alphabet sees these models as a step toward the next chapter in language models where they handle tasks on your behalf, with highlights like better multitasking, complex reasoning, and tool use. While it’s still early days for this tech, investors liked what they saw from a name that’s sometimes seen as being behind in the AI race.”

Although the FTSE 100 has next to no exposure to technology, hopes the US tech rally could continue helped lift sentiment.

“The FTSE 100 ticked higher on Thursday after US stocks chalked up another landmark. The Nasdaq index yesterday smashed through the 20,000 barrier for the first time,” said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.

“The catalyst for the tech-driven rally was a benign inflation reading. This fuelled expectations for an interest rate cut when the Federal Reserve meets next week.

“The Fed is in tricky position given the uncertainty over the incoming Trump administration’s agenda and the scope for tariffs to revive inflationary pressures.”

A rate cut next week is far from nailed on, but it is the most likely scenario. However, the Federal Reserve’s approach to interest rates in 2025 will drive trade the accompanying commentary next week will have the power to move the dial for global stocks.

Positive developments in the US overnight provided a welcome distraction from the China headline-to-headline trade that has dominated the week so far.

At the time of writing, around half of the FTSE 100’s constituents were trading positively, with banks and utilities helping to support the index.

Diageo was the FTSE 100’s top riser after UBS switched its sell rating to buy with a price target of 2,920p. Diageo shares were 3.4% higher at the time of writing.

IAG continued its rip-roaring rally with another 2% rise, extending its 2024 gains to 89%.

Helix Exploration has announced a significant commercial helium discovery at its Darwin #1 well within the Rudyard Project in Montana’s Helium Fairway.

The exploration well has yielded high-grade helium concentrations of 1.1%, and Helix projects that individual wells at the Rudyard field could generate approximately $4.0 million in pre-tax annual cash flow.

This will be a welcome development for investors after recent disappointment elsewhere in Helix’s exploration activities, and Helix Exploration shares were 20% higher at the time of writing.

The company conducted comprehensive testing across multiple reservoir horizons, simultaneously perforating a 236-foot section spanning both the Souris and Red River intervals at depths between 5,000 and 5,276 feet.

Testing revealed robust production capabilities, with the well achieving sustained commercial flow rates of 2,750 thousand cubic feet per day (Mcf/d) of raw gas when using a 40/64″ choke.

Further testing indicated an Absolute Open Flow potential exceeding 4,500 Mcf/d, confirming Darwin #1 as a strong producing well.

“Darwin #1 has delivered exceptional results and has demonstrated it has the potential to be a strong producer capable of delivering sustained flow of commercial helium.  The identification of 1.1% helium with commercial flow rates at Darwin #1 makes Rudyard a company making discovery.  With capacity for several production wells to operate on Rudyard field simultaneously the project has potential to generate multi-million-dollar revenues per year,” said Bo Sears, CEO of Helix Exploration.

“With deep experience taking helium projects through exploration into production, the Board is uniquely positioned to rapidly advance our projects.  With low capital requirements and high yield return on investment Rudyard is attractive to many forms of project finance. We look forward to an exciting 2025 as we update the market on plans to become cash generating before the end of next year.”

Notably, the well demonstrated immediate flow following perforation without requiring stimulation or swabbing, while pressure build-up between flow periods remained close to initial shut-in levels, indicating excellent reservoir permeability and minimal wellbore damage.

Parkmead shares soared on Thursday after the company announced the sale of its subsidiary Parkmead (E&P) Ltd to Serica Energy (UK) Ltd, in a deal worth up to £134 million.

The transaction includes £14 million in firm cash consideration, with an initial payment of £5 million at completion and three deferred payments totaling £9 million to be paid between 2025 and 2027.

Parkmead shares were 75% higher at the time of writing.

The deal also includes substantial contingent payments of up to £120 million, linked to the development of two key assets. These contingent payments are tied to the approval of field development plans for the Skerryvore prospect and Fynn Beauly oil discovery, with potential payments of up to £30 million and £90 million respectively.

“I am delighted to announce this important transaction for Parkmead.  Through the sale of these UK offshore oil licences we have no further capital investment requirements, whilst retaining a very attractive share of the upside should any developments at Skerryvore or Fynn Beauly proceed,” said Parkmead’s Executive Chairman, Tom Cross.

“The addition of the near-term, firm £14 million cash consideration, together with Parkmead’s existing cash, means the Group is well-funded to pursue the next phase of its growth plans in natural gas, renewable energies and international E&P.”

While Parkmead is selling its UK offshore oil licenses through this transaction, it will retain its Netherlands onshore gas licenses and continue to hold all its other energy assets, including its revenue-generating Dutch gas fields and the Kempstone Hill Wind Farm in the UK.

The rationale behind the sale reflects the challenging landscape for UK North Sea oil operations. Parkmead cited the current political environment towards UK oil and gas, along with the UK Government’s focus on its Net Zero Strategy, as key factors in its decision. The company believes these offshore licenses would be better served within a larger, North Sea-focused organization, allowing Parkmead to concentrate on developing its Netherlands gas assets and renewable energy projects.

The transaction is expected to complete in the first half of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals. Looking ahead, Parkmead plans to focus on growing its core UK renewable and Netherlands gas assets, including the development of a major wind farm of up to 100 MW at Pitreadie, while actively pursuing value-adding acquisition opportunities in renewable energy and international exploration and production.

China has been at the forefront of investors’ minds this week, and it remained there on Wednesday as markets awaited further news on efforts to stimulate the economy.

The FTSE 100 reversed early losses to trade 0.2% higher at the time of writing after a softer session yesterday on concerns China’s measures may not be enough to sustain longer-term recovery.

“There’s hope in the air for more clues about China’s latest stimulus plan, which is helping lift markets mid-week. The FTSE is set to edge higher in morning trade as the Central Economic Work Conference begins with new targets expected to be laid out,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“With the Politburo having announced a looser monetary stance will be adopted next year, investors are holding out for more fiscal support, bigger spending and lower borrowing. While the plans are still likely to be short on detail this week, the economic priorities set by the conference will be seen as an indicator of how far authorities are willing to go to bolster China’s domestic demand, in the face of looming US tariffs which are set to hamper exports.”

While much of the focus has been on China this week, attention will soon shift to the US and the latest round of inflation data. Traders will be acutely aware of the uncertainty around interest rate cuts, and each highly anticipated inflation data point brings with it the chance of a shift in market expectations of when the Fed will next cut rates.

US CPI will be released at 13.30 on Wednesday and has the potential to move the dial for equities.

FTSE 100 shares were evenly split between gainers and decliners on Wednesday, although the risers did show a little more vigour than the decliners.

IAG was the top riser after a broker upgrade sent shares 2.7% to the highest level since 2020. “International Consolidated Airlines is having a whale of a time on the stock market this year and its shares just hit their highest level since March 2020 thanks to a ratings upgrade from Deutsche Bank,” said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.

IAG shares have gained 87% in 2024 alone.

Endeavour Mining was having a good session after releasing a positive evaluation of a gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire.

“I am delighted with the results of this pre-feasibility study that highlight the potential for Assafou to become a tier 1 asset for Endeavour,” said Ian Cockerill, CEO of Endeavour Mining.

Ashtead was rooted to the bottom of the leaderboard again following a profit downgrade yesterday. Ashtead shares were down 5% at the time of writing.