The FTSE 100 climbed to a record high on Wednesday as investors moved away from technology-heavy US and Asian markets amid renewed concerns about an artificial-intelligence stock-market bubble.
The blue-chip index added 37.39 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 10,908.41, after earlier touching a new intraday record of 10,951.06. The FTSE 250 edged lower to 23,996.81, while the AIM All-Share fell 0.8%.
Investors also looked ahead to the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and quarterly earnings from technology giants Microsoft and Meta Platforms later in the day.
Wall Street traded lower in afternoon dealing, with the Dow Jones down 1.5%, the S&P 500 falling 0.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite losing 1.1% as weakness in technology stocks continued.
Oil prices climbed sharply after renewed US-Iran tensions pushed Brent crude above US$90 a barrel, lifting BP 3.4% and Shell 2.8%.
Among corporate movers, Sage Group rose 8.8% after an upbeat trading update, while Weir Group gained 8.7% following strong first-half results and better-than-expected order intake.
Reckitt advanced 4.3% after reporting stronger-than-expected second-quarter sales growth and announcing a new share buyback programme. Standard Chartered climbed 2.9% after posting record first-half results, launching a US$1 billion share buyback and raising its full-year income guidance.
In the FTSE 250, Greggs surged 18% after delivering better-than-expected first-half sales and profit, with investors welcoming the bakery chain’s decision to maintain full-year guidance.
Attention now turns to Thursday’s Bank of England interest rate decision, alongside UK corporate results from Rolls-Royce, Lloyds Banking Group, Anglo American and Rentokil Initial.
