Record-breaking FTSE: How have other benchmarks fared since the crisis?
The FTSE 100 broke its all-time highest close today, ending trading on 6,949.6. This is bullish news, showing there is strength in Britain’s largest companies, even as the global economy shows signs of sickness.
How is the FTSE looking compared to other stock benchmarks? Not all that great, as it turns out. The first index to rise above its 2008 level was the Nasdaq, on 5 March 2010. It didn’t stay above that mark but ducked and dived. It finally emerged into the sun on 3 January 2012, still ahead of the competition.
It was a similar story for the FTSE, which first beat its 2008 price on 5 March 2013, finally staying above the mark on 10 October the same year. The German Dax emerged around the same time as the FTSE but has since surpassed it, while the French CAC has never emerged at all.
There has been some speculation as to when the FTSE will finally beat 7,000 and whether it will manage to do so before the Nasdaq pips 5,000. At the time of writing the battle was still on, with the Nasdaq on 4,963.8.