By Londons FTSE 100 hit a oneweek high on Tuesday, getting a boost from financial and mining stocks as investors bet on more stimulus measures to soften the economic impact from a new wave of coronavirus infections.
The commodityheavy FTSE 100 index gained 1.4, bolstered by banks, energy and mining stocks.
The domesticallyfocussed midcap FTSE 250 rose 1.3, with shares in Crest Nicholson Holdings Plc surging 18.9 after the homebuilder forecast annual profit ahead of market expectations and reinstated dividend.
The wider homebuilding subindex gained 1.3.
Its quite surprising when youve got such a massive event driven week, you can see a little bit of apprehension at the start of the week, but it has been quite the opposite, said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda in London.
Were heading into an extremely uncertain period and if we could see the smooth U.S. presidential election, a vaccine announcement in over the coming weeks and a Brexit deal, which looks highly likely now in the next couple of weeks, all of these are very supportive factors for markets.
UK shares have logged a strong start to November after ending October with their biggest monthly decline since the coronavirusfuelled crash in March, with traders counting on more monetary and fiscal measures to support businesses impacted by a new round of nationwide lockdowns.
In its policy meeting on Nov. 5, the Bank of England is expected to ramp up its bondbuying programme.
Focus this week is also on…
