Record rises on FTSE 100

The last couple of weeks have seen the longest run of daily rises on the FTSE 100.

For 14 consecutive days, the FTSE climbed that little bit further, eventually peaking at 7,338 points.

In total, the FTSE achieved a new record level by the close of business each day from December 28th until Friday 13th January. It eventually dipped at the start of this week as the markets held their breath waiting for the Government’s long awaited statement on what Brexit will mean for the UK.

The previous longest run of consecutive rises was almost ten years ago when the FTSE 100 rose for eight days.
The FTSE 100 owed much of its winning streak this time to the recovery of the banking and mining stocks.

A poor performing sterling – down almost 20% against the dollar since last June’s EU referendum – has helped to make FTSE 100 stocks more attractive.

This is due to the majority of stocks being multinational firms earning money in dollars. These companies then benefit from converting that revenue into pounds.

By Wednesday of this week, the FTSE 100 had fallen slightly to just over 7,200 points, still an impressive position and something unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.