The FTSE 100 reached a record high for the second consecutive trading day on Monday, as markets anticipated the inauguration of Donald Trump.
London’s blue-chip index gained 15 points to finish the day at 8,521, or a 0.2% rise.
Mr Trump has promised deregulation for finance firms and energy companies, in particular touting a “drill baby drill” agenda for the oil and gas industry.
However, while he is expected to sign about 100 executive orders immediately after he is sworn in, reports on Monday suggested long-promised trade tariffs would not be among them.
The share prices of commodities firms including miners Anglo American, Fresnillo and Glencore rose on Monday, helping lift the wider FTSE 100 higher.
In Europe, France’s Cac 40 closed 0.3% higher, and in Frankfurt the Dax was up 0.5%.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones were closed because it is Martin Luther King, Jr Day, a national holiday.
The pound was up 0.9% against the US dollar at 1.228 on Monday.
Sterling was down about 0.2% against the euro at 1.182.
In company news, the owner of the Daily Mirror and Express newspapers saw shares surge higher after revealing annual results were set to be better than expected thanks to a strong end to 2024.
Shares in Reach – which also owns the Daily Star and a raft of regional titles – jumped by more than a quarter at one stage in Monday morning trading after the upgrade.
The firm is currently forecast to deliver underlying annual earnings of £97.8 million, slightly higher than 2023.
Shares finished 21% up on Monday.
In oil markets, the price of Brent crude oil fell by 0.9%, to about $80 US dollars per barrel.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Fresnillo, up 19.5p to 685.5p, Anglo American, up 72.5p to 2620.5p, Spirax, up 185p to 7455p, Experian, up 83p to 3820p, and Melrose Industries, up 12.4p to 580p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Rentokil, down 8.5p to 377.8p, Hiscox, down 24p to 1080p, Beazley, down 12.5p to 833.5p, Pearson, down 18.5p to 1270.5p, and LondonMetric Property, down 2.5p to 181p.
