FTSE 100 Marks Record High as Oil and Gold Surge Amid Russia Sanctions

The London stock market’s leading index soared to a new record as the FTSE 100 climbed 63.57 points or 0.7 percent to 9578.57 on Thursday This milestone surpasses its previous peak set earlier in October and highlights the ongoing influence of global commodities and geopolitical tensions on UK equities

This latest rally has been largely fuelled by strong gains from Rentokil which jumped 8.3 percent following a robust thirdquarter trading update and from the London Stock Exchange Group up 7.1 percent after its own solid performance update The mood among investors was buoyed by sharp rises in both oil and gold prices triggered by dramatic political developments

The United States has imposed sweeping new sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil Russias two largest oil firms in a move aimed at hastening the resolution of the Ukraine war These restrictions have prompted a surge in oil prices with Brent crude advancing nearly 5 percent to 6550 US dollars a barrel At the same time shares in BP and Shell climbed by 3.6 percent and 2.8 percent respectively to close at their highest levels in more than a year

Higher energy prices took their toll on certain sectors however as budget airline Easyjet slipped by 2.8 percent reflecting increased fuel costs Overall sentiment in the commodities space remained bullish with gold seeing a 1.2 percent rise to 4140.27 US dollars an ounce JP Morgan analysts have forecast that gold could breach the 5000 mark per ounce by 2026 supporting gains for miners like Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining which both outperformed

The FTSE 250 also enjoyed a strong session reaching heights not seen since January 2022 by climbing 131.62 points or 0.6 percent to 22361.41 While the midcap index still sits below its 2021 highs it reflects renewed investor confidence in the domestic UK market despite lingering global uncertainties

Across Europe stock markets in Frankfurt Paris Milan and Madrid posted gains as traders shrugged off concerns over the Ukraine war trade friction between the US and China and speculation over a market bubble in artificial intelligence Wall Street rebounded alongside with the SP 500 Nasdaq and Dow Jones all making notable advances during afternoon trading