The FTSE sped ahead of its peers on Tuesday, boosted by a number of factors, including the latest update from the Chancellor.
The mood distinctly shifted once Rishi Sunak revealed that the furlough scheme would be in place until the end of October at the earlier, maintained at 80% of salary up to £2500 a month. There will be no alterations to the scheme until the end of July, when a greater flexibility will be introduced to ‘support the transition back to work’ – this will include employers contributing to the cost of furloughs.
It was only this announcement that spurred the FTSE on, but a 8.7% rise from Vodafone (LON:VOD), which stuck with its dividend payout despite the covid-19-hit landscape, and the threat of the merger between O2 and Virgin.
The upswell in optimism sent the UK index 1.1% higher, leaving it within touching distance of 6000. In contrast, the DAX could only manage a 0.4% rise, while the CAC fell into the red by 0.3%.
Looking ahead to the US session and the Dow Jones already seems perkier than it did at the start of the day, when the futures were suggesting a 100 point decline. Now the Dow is facing an increase of the same amount, one that would push it back above 24300.
Before the open the index will have to contend with the latest US inflation reading, which is forecast to slip from -0.4% to -0.7% month-on-month, with the core figure down from -0.1% to -0.2%.
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