FTSE 100 surges to four-month high as US-China deal lifts stocks
London's blue-chip share index rose by more than 2% after the US trade representative said the deal was "totally done".
Monday 16 December 2019 18:22, UK
The FTSE 100 has hit a four-month high as an initial trade deal between the US and China helped stocks extend a rally started last week after Boris Johnson's election victory.
London's leading share index climbed by more than 2.5%, or nearly 200 points, in Monday trading, with European stock markets also higher.
The S&P 500 and tech-focused Nasdaq later hit record levels when Wall Street opened for business.
It came after US trade representative Robert Lighthizer said a "phase-one" deal between Washington and Beijing was "totally done".
The market rally added to a rise last Friday when stocks were buoyed by hopes that the Conservatives' election victory would lift uncertainty around Brexit.
On Monday, the blue-chip index's global heavyweights enjoyed some of the biggest gains, with British American Tobacco, insurer Prudential and commodities giant Glencore among the biggest risers.
Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays also saw strong increases while investment house Hargreaves Lansdown was the biggest riser, gaining 6.1%.
The FTSE 100 closed the day 2.25% up at 7519 - a rise of 165 points.
Investors were cheered by the latest economic data from China which proved better than expected and the latest sign of tension easing in the stand-off between the US and China, the world's two biggest economies.
A deal announced on Friday will reduce some US tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for increased Chinese purchases of US agricultural, manufactured and energy products over the next two years.
However, a date for senior officials to sign the agreement formally is still being determined.
The deal did mean that a plan by the US to impose tariffs on $160bn of Chinese imports, due to take effect on Sunday, was suspended.
But other tariffs imposed during the ratcheting up of trade war tensions over recent months remained in place.
US president Donald Trump tweeted his delight at the latest market moves.
He told his followers: "New Stock Market high! I will never get bored of telling you that - and we will never get tired of winning!"