While the rest of Europe hit snooze, the FTSE continued to climb on Friday morning despite some mixed UK data.
Most of the big figures underperformed. Industrial production for April contracted by 1.3%, against the 1.2% expansion forecast and the 1.8% managed in March. The slowdown in manufacturing production wasn’t quite as severe, but even then, it came in at -0.3%, well off both the 1.5% estimate and March’s 2.1%.
The monthly GDP reading for the 3-months to the end of April was slightly more promising, rising from 2.1% to 2.3% (though that did leave it short of the 2.4% forecast).
Yet neither the pound nor FTSE seemed bothered by these misses. Sterling was unchanged against the dollar and down just 0.1% against the euro, while the index climbed 0.6% thanks to its miners.
The FTSE is now trading above 7,125 for the first time in a month and is around 40-50 points away from the then-14 and a half-month peak struck in early May.
Looking to this afternoon and the Dow Jones is heading for another static start, with the futures suggesting an unchanged open just under 34,500.
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