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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| FTSE 100 hits new closing high for second day in a row | FTSE 100 hits new closing high for second day in a row |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Britain’s blue-chip share index has closed at a new all-time high for a second day running. | Britain’s blue-chip share index has closed at a new all-time high for a second day running. |
| The FTSE 100 jumped to close at 7,120.26 on Thursday night,14 points above the previous record set on Wednesday. | The FTSE 100 jumped to close at 7,120.26 on Thursday night,14 points above the previous record set on Wednesday. |
| Precious metal miners such as Randgold Resources and Fresnillo climbed more than 4 per cent, pushing the index into record territory. | |
| The rally was spurred by the price of gold, which rose 1.3 per cent to $1,156.90 an ounce. | |
| Engineering firms Ashtead and Rolls-Royce were the biggest fallers, dropping 2.4 per cent to 1,569p and 1.75 per cent to 674p respectively. | |
| It comes after the FTSE 100 hit a record high close on Wednesday, beating the 7,103.98 point mark set in April 2015, boosted in part by the collapse in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote. | |
| The pound is down about 10 per cent against the euro since the EU referendum in June, and is 17 per cent weaker against the US dollar. | The pound is down about 10 per cent against the euro since the EU referendum in June, and is 17 per cent weaker against the US dollar. |
| Sterling’s post referendum slump has boosted the FTSE 100 as many companies make a significant proportion of their profits abroad. | |
| This means these companies make more money when sterling is weak. | This means these companies make more money when sterling is weak. |
| David Cheetham, market analyst at online trading group XTB, said: “Observers of the markets have for many years noticed a strong propensity for stocks to rise in the period between Christmas and the New Year and this phenomenon appears to be playing out once more.” | David Cheetham, market analyst at online trading group XTB, said: “Observers of the markets have for many years noticed a strong propensity for stocks to rise in the period between Christmas and the New Year and this phenomenon appears to be playing out once more.” |