FTSE 100 closes above 7,000, GBP strong ahead of ‘Super Thursday’, Dogecoin surges By Investing.com

Key Points

• FTSE 100 closing price of 7,039.36, +1.7%
• Miners lift FTSE
• Croda jumps as it considers sale of PTIC division
• GBP higher ahead of ‘Super Thursday’
• Ethereum steadies after recent gains, Dogecoin takes off

By Samuel Indyk

Investing.com – The FTSE 100 managed to close above 7,000 for the first time since 19th April as European stock markets rallied following yesterday’s declines.

Miners led the FTSE 100 higher as metals prices continue to rally. Anglo American (LON:AAL), BHP Group (LON:BHPB), Glencore (LON:GLEN), and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) all rising by over 4.5%.

Croda International  (LON:CRDA) shares were also higher after the company announced it is conducting a strategic review of its Performance Technologies and Industrial Chemicals businesses, which could include a full or partial divestment.

WTI and Brent crude futures were both trading higher with Brent finding resistance ahead of $70/bbl. Optimism about increasing global demand for fuel as economies reopen continues to underpin energy prices. Further supporting prices was the latest inventory report from the Energy Information Administration. The EIA said crude stockpiles fell by 7.99mln barrels in the latest week, compared with expectations of a draw down of 2.346mln barrels.

GBP was higher ahead of what some traders are calling ‘Super Thursday’ due to the Bank of England interest rate decision and a key Scottish Parliament election. The Bank of England is not expected to make any changes to monetary policy but they should acknowledge the speed of the recovery as the economy begins to reopen.

Thursday’s Scottish Parliament election is seen as a key hurdle to another Scottish independence referendum. If the Scottish National Party (SNP) gain a majority of seats in parliament it will likely heighten calls for a referendum sooner rather than later. Polls at the moment are too close to call with the SNP expected to pick up around half of the votes. A Savanta ComRes poll suggested this may not translate into a majority of seats and expects the SNP to fall 6 short.

Cryptocurrencies have had a mixed day with the clear outperformer being Dogecoin. The meme-based cryptocurrency surged to a record high above $0.63 ahead of Elon Musk’s appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend. Bitcoin staged a decent bounce while Ethereum retreated slightly after hitting an all-time high on Tuesday’s trading session.