Overnight the Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell had just the soothing message the market was looking for.
AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: “Concerns that last Friday’s bumper jobs report would see the Fed react to what it perceived as an overheating labour market were eased, with Powell’s relatively relaxed response possibly reflecting the seasonal anomalies which often affect the January numbers.
“Whether Powell will remain so relaxed if the next set of payroll figures are similarly elevated is open to question and investors will be keeping a close eye on next week’s US inflation figures for January. If there is any sign of a renewed uptick in prices, then the market would likely respond very negatively.
“For now, the positive sentiment has allowed the FTSE 100 to reach new sunny uplands, hitting a fresh all-time high. Now the milestone has been achieved though there may be a bit of an inquest into why it has taken the FTSE 100 so long when many of its global counterparts were making records years ago.”
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