The FTSE 100 closed at a fresh record high on a day of whipsawing global markets, as a strengthening US dollar offset sharp falls in commodities including gold, silver and oil.
London’s blue-chip index finished up 118.02 points, or 1.15 per cent, at 10,341.56, reversing an early European sell-off and setting a new closing peak. Traders bet that the dollar’s recent rally would boost earnings prospects for UK-listed multinationals, around three-quarters of which generate revenues in dollars.
The session was marked by heavy volatility across asset classes:
Gold prices fell a further 1.9 per cent to $4,648.76 an ounce, their lowest closing level since mid-January and more than 13 per cent below last week’s record high. Silver, which had surged earlier this year, also slid 1.9 per cent to $76.78 an ounce, leaving it down more than a third from its recent peak.
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