FTSE 100 Hits Record High

(RTTNews) - Strong corporate earnings in U.K. helped the FTSE 100 benchmark of the London Stock Exchange scale a fresh peak on Thursday. The index touched an all-time-high of 10,833.75 on Thursday amidst renewed risk appetite following better-than-expected earnings from market darling NVIDIA. The benchmark's gains on Thursday however lagged those of its peers in Europe. Anxiety about the outcome of the by-election and the potential political ramifications limited gains.

The FTSE 100 which had closed at 10,806.41 on Wednesday traded between 10,792.50 and 10,833.75 on Thursday.

The index is currently trading at 10,821.25, rising 0.14 percent from the previous close. The rally has helped the index record gains of close to 24 percent over the course of the past one year.

In the 100-scrip index, 61 scrips are trading in the overnight green zone.

Howden Joinery Group topped gains with a surge of 9.8 percent following a profit beat. London Stock Exchange Group followed with gains of 7.7 percent. Rolls Royce rallied more than 6 percent.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals plunged more than 15 percent amidst guidance that missed market expectations. Fresnillo as well as Antofagasta declined more than 3 percent. Anglo American also slipped 2.9 percent.

The six-currency Dollar Index has weakened to 97.62 from 97.70 at close on Wednesday. The GBP/USD pair has in the meanwhile edged down 0.07 percent to 1.3548. The sterling ranged between $1.3575 and $1.3519 in the day's trade. The EUR/GBP pair has edged up 0.09 percent to 0.8718. Amidst the yen's strength, the GBP/JPY pair is currently trading 0.30 percent lower at 211.38. The pair ranged between 212.08 and 210.84.

Amidst a softening trend in bond yields globally, ten-year bond yields in the U.K. dropped 0.53 percent on Thursday. The yields ranged between 4.3270 percent and 4.2950 percent over the course of the day. Yields had closed at 4.3210 percent a day earlier.