Commodity stocks drive FTSE 100 to fifth straight week of gains
Britain's top equity index closed at a eight-week high on Friday, lifted by commodity and banking stocks at the end of a volatile week that saw concerns about higher U.S. interest rates and the Ukraine conflict rattle investors.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) gained 1.6% to touch its highest since Feb. 11, with oil majors BP (BP.L), Shell (SHEL.L) and miner Anglo American (AAL.L) rising between 3.7% and 4.8%.
"The make-up of the FTSE 100 is the biggest reason why the market is outperforming," said Maarten Geerdink, head of European equities at NN Investment Partners.
"We've a very different landscape for commodities at this time ... and the natural reaction from equity investors is if you want to hedge yourself against inflation, you want to buy into commodity exposure."
The FTSE 100 logged its fifth straight weekly gain, and is up 3.7% so far this year due to its heavy weighting in energy and mining companies, which have benefited from a sharp rally in oil and metal prices.
Still, defensive sectors such as pharmaceuticals and utilities boosted markets this week as investors played safe amid concerns about the Russia-Ukraine conflict and prospects of rapid policy tightening by global central banks to tame inflation.
www.reuters.com/worl...ek-gains-2022-04-08/
The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) gained 1.6% to touch its highest since Feb. 11, with oil majors BP (BP.L), Shell (SHEL.L) and miner Anglo American (AAL.L) rising between 3.7% and 4.8%.
"The make-up of the FTSE 100 is the biggest reason why the market is outperforming," said Maarten Geerdink, head of European equities at NN Investment Partners.
"We've a very different landscape for commodities at this time ... and the natural reaction from equity investors is if you want to hedge yourself against inflation, you want to buy into commodity exposure."
The FTSE 100 logged its fifth straight weekly gain, and is up 3.7% so far this year due to its heavy weighting in energy and mining companies, which have benefited from a sharp rally in oil and metal prices.
Still, defensive sectors such as pharmaceuticals and utilities boosted markets this week as investors played safe amid concerns about the Russia-Ukraine conflict and prospects of rapid policy tightening by global central banks to tame inflation.
www.reuters.com/worl...ek-gains-2022-04-08/
