For the second consecutive day, Britain’s FTSE 100 closed at a record high on Tuesday, driven by weak UK labor market data that raised hopes for Bank of England rate cuts, alongside AstraZeneca reaching an all-time high.
The FTSE 100 rose 1.2% to 9,899.6 points, with the mid-cap FTSE 250 increasing by 0.8%.
AstraZeneca advanced 2.6%, further solidifying its status as Britain’s largest listed company by market value, following its strong quarterly results last week.
Prospects for a December BoE rate cut were strengthened by clear signs of a cooling UK labor market, as unemployment rose to 5%, the highest in four years, and wage growth continued to decelerate.
“There’s more slack developing in the labor market – perhaps even more than the MPC (the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee) anticipated in its November forecasts; additionally, pay momentum is slowing. Both factors should be encouraging for the MPC,” commented Deutsche Bank’s chief economist Sanjay Raja.
The pound initially dropped against the dollar following the data release but later stabilized to trade nearly unchanged.
In equities, the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors both saw gains exceeding 2.5%, with AstraZeneca joined by GSK, which rose 3%, and consumer healthcare group Haleon climbing 3.2%.
Among energy firms, Shell increased by 2.2%, reaching its highest level in over a year, while BP gained 2.6%, buoyed by rising oil prices due to U.S. sanctions on Russian oil.
Vodafone soared 8.3% to a two-year high after robust performance in Germany led the company to raise its annual profit forecast and increase dividends for the first time in eight years.
Oxford Instruments, a maker of scientific tools, surged 14.9%, marking its largest single-day gain in nearly four years, driven by improved order momentum.
Conversely, food supplier Hilton Food plummeted 22.7% to a decade low after warning that profit growth may be challenging in the upcoming financial year.
