After a terrible start to 2024, the FTSE 100 finally seemed to gain some steam this week and finished with its best one-day performance since October.
At the close in London, the index had gained 105.36 points, or 1.40%, to end the week at 7,635.09.
It came amid victories almost everywhere, with only supermarkets and electricity generators appearing to have problems during the day.
Tesco, Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer, Centrica and SSE were at the bottom of the main UK index.
“The FTSE 100 is… experiencing a strong session, hitting two-week highs and its biggest weekly gain since last September, driven by strong performance from its large caps AstraZeneca, Shell, BP, HSBC, Unilever and Diageo across a broad spectrum.” . rebound,” said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.
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In Europe, a strong performance by LVMH – the company behind Louis Vuitton, Dior and Tiffany – helped make the luxury goods-packed Cac 40 in Paris the standout performer. It ended the day up 2.28%.
This can also be felt in London, Hewson said.
“The rally in LVMH shares, coupled with the positive outlook, has translated into a rebound in the broader sector, with shares in Hermès and Burberry also posting solid gains, while Diageo is also up on the back of a rally in companies such as Remy Cointreau and as well as other spirits manufacturers throughout Europe,” he said.
The German Dax index had a softer positive performance, 0.32%, while in New York the S&P 500 rose 0.11% shortly after the European markets closed and the Dow Jones rose 0.25%.
In company news, WH Smith said on Friday its revenue rose 8% in the past 20 weeks as it reported strong performance from its travel division. The company's shares closed down 0.65%.
Despite the obvious problems in its accounts, Superdry shares lost just 2.61%, probably partly because it had already warned investors about the poor conditions last month.
The company said its adjusted pre-tax loss almost doubled to £25.3 million in the six months to the end of October, partly due to a warmer-than-usual autumn.
Even since then, revenue has declined significantly, the company revealed.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Croda, up 239p to 4,756p, Diageo, up 139p to 2,849p, Burberry, up 63p to 1,341.5p, Vodafone, up 2.64p to 70.76p, and St James's Place, which rose 24.4p to 670.8p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Centrica, down 6.6p to 137.65p, SSE, down 41p to 1,698p, Sainsbury's, down 5.4p to 276p, Tesco, down 5. .3p to 293.5p, and Marks & Spencer, which was down 4.5p. at 255.9p.
