FTSE hits record high off the back of miners’ gains

The FTSE 100 has hit a record high, rising as much as 80 points (0.9%) this morning to a peak of 8947.84 points, with major miners like Glencore and Rio Tinto seeing strong surges in their stocks.

Nikos Tzabouras, Senior Market Analyst at Jefferies-owned Tradu.com, explains that this can be put down to higher gold prices and the drive for AI and clean energy increasing the demand for copper.

“FTSE 100 reaches new record highs, driven by major miners like Glencore and Rio Tinto. Trade and geopolitical tensions send prices of Gold higher this year, while the proliferation of AI and the clean energy transition offer structural demand drivers for critical minerals like copper.

“Trump’s 50% duty on copper imports sent NY prices soaring to new record highs, which can be a boon for producers of the non-ferrous metal. However, these miners that sell copper primarily in LME prices can be at a disadvantage compared to US rivals like Freeport-McMoran.”