The FTSE 100 closed up 0.37% and the FTSE 250 closed down 1.05% on Friday, amid ongoing political uncertainty in the UK in the wake of Prime Minister Liz Truss’s resignation.
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Analyst Joshua Mahoney at IG said: “Meanwhile, traders are faced with yet another bout of political uncertainty, with Penny Mordaunt officially throwing her hat into the ring for a potentially doomed two-year stint that will likely be dominated by inflation and recession.”
Amid discussion of Boris Johnson potentially returning to No 10 Downing Street, Nigel Green founder of financial advisory and asset management giant deVere Group said, “The Second Coming of Boris Johnson would receive the wrath of already jittery financial markets.
“It was the markets’ horrified reaction to Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget that forced her to resign after just 45 days in office. The pound hit historic lows against the dollar, gilt yields jumped, and stock markets fell. The mortgage market, the pension market, the housing market, amongst others, all took a battering. We can expect to see the same kind of market carnage should Boris Johnson take back the keys to Number 10.”
The FTSE 100 was boosted by a surge in blue chip stocks driven by investor hopes that the Federal Reserve may hold back on raising interest rates.
A report in the Wall Street Journal suggested that officials will raise interest rates by 0.75% in November, but may shift to a smaller increase in December.
British business news today
A political backlash against monetary policy is coming (FT)
Mike Ashley snaps up stake in struggling Asos (Telegraph)
Double blow for Johnson as Mordaunt refuses deal (Times)
