Rolls-Royce shares hit new high as FTSE 100 rallies to record
Rolls-Royce was among a whole host of City heavyweights storming higher on Wednesday helping the FTSE 100 seal another record.
The aerospace giant jumped 2.2 per cent to 1,325.50p taking it to a new all-time high ahead of January’s previous peak of 1,305.00p.
The move came as defence titan BAE System jumped near four per cent higher to 2,103.00p after kicking off new plans to dish out cash to shareholders. The firm’s defence peer Babcock was also up two per cent.
The defence sector has had a bumper start to the week after news broke the UK was weighing up meeting its target to spend three per cent of GDP on defence much earlier than the previous goal of the end of the next Parliament.
Gains across defence and other heavyweight sectors helped the FTSE 100 to build on Tuesday’s record close and advance another one per cent by midday on Wednesday hitting 10,672.50p.
‘Old and unexciting’ FTSE 100 provides stability
“What was once perceived as a boring index full of old and unexciting companies has now turned into an area of relative stability amid ongoing concerns around the implications of AI.
“The FTSE’s climb is broad-based, with significant momentum in energy, defence (amid Iran tensions), financials (driven by rate outlooks), and mining (as metal prices rally),” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.
For the banking sector, HSBC made the biggest movement, jumping over two per cent to near 1,300p, shortly followed by Barclays, which hit 484.40p after a two per cent increase.
Miner Antofagasta soared four per cent by midday, with peers Anglo American and Glencore up nearly three per cent. It came after the latter kicked off plans to splash out $2bn on shareholders despite a profit dip.
“Glencore’s second-half recovery may not rival Liverpool’s turnaround in Istanbul two decades ago, but the latter part of the year did represent a significant improvement – driven by strong metal prices and higher copper output,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“Like most of its peers, Glencore sees copper as the route to growth thanks to the role the metal is playing in AI data centres, renewable energy, and electric vehicle infrastructure. Building greater scale in copper production was a key driver behind the talks over a combination with Rio Tinto.”