The FTSE 100 pushed higher on Tuesday, gaining 42 points to reach 10,526 after strong performances from miners and technology investment funds.
Anglo American and Antofagasta both climbed over 2% as copper prices rose and Chinese economic data came in better than expected, boosting sentiment across the mining sector.
Polar Capital Technology Trust was the top riser on the index, up 2.4%, while Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust added 1.6% as tech-focused funds attracted buyers.
Oil giants Shell and BP acted as a minor drag on the index, both slipping slightly into the red despite the broader market’s positive tone.
Market analyst Neil Wilson at Saxo flagged dollar strength as a key theme, attributing it to the “Warsh effect” in reference to the new Federal Reserve chair and his policy views.
The stronger dollar pushed the pound down 0.2% and the euro down 0.3%, while the Japanese yen came under significant pressure, with the USDJPY breaching fresh 40-year highs above 162.40.
Sainsbury’s (SBRY) shares rose around 2% after its first-quarter update showed total retail sales excluding fuel were up 2.7% in the 16 weeks to 20 June, with grocery sales climbing 3.6%.
Online grocery sales increased 12.5%, though Argos sales slipped 0.5% and general merchandise and clothing sales fell 3.7%, with the supermarket holding its profit outlook steady.
Analyst Freddie Wild at Jefferies described the update as a “slight beat”, with “grocery and (more surprisingly) Argos strength offsetting a weaker-than-expected General Merchandise and Clothing number”.
Clive Black at Shore Capital took a more optimistic view, saying: “With a Q2 tailwind, the bottom end of the current guided [underlying earnings] range may yet be raised.”
Victoria Scholar at Interactive Investor noted that “while shares are little changed so far this year, the stock remains higher by a respectable 15% over the past 12 months, a similar percentage increase to its long-standing rival Tesco.”
Entain (ENT) fell alongside housebuilders Barratt Redrow and Persimmon, with the Ladbrokes owner under pressure following reports of potential new taxes on gambling machines.
Tuesday marks the final trading day of the month, the quarter, and the first half of the year, which analysts described as a remarkable period for global equities.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya at Swissquote noted it had been the best quarter for global equities in six years, “despite the Iran war, disrupted oil and fertilizer flows, and a spike in energy prices that led to a rise in global inflation expectations”.
Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid highlighted that the S&P 500 was on the verge of its best quarterly performance since the sharp pandemic recovery bounce, having ended five consecutive sessions of declines.
The Magnificent Seven group of tech megacaps has fallen 10% in June and nearly 15% since the May peak, with Microsoft losing more than a third of its valuation since October last year.
UK GDP for the first quarter of 2026 grew by 0.6% compared to the previous three months, unrevised from the prior estimate, though the year-on-year figure was revised down to 0.9% from 1.1%.
ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: “Our latest set of figures show no revision to economic growth in the first quarter of this year. However, growth for 2025 was revised down a little.”
Andy Burnham’s speech outlining fiscal plans, including a commitment to stick to current fiscal rules, was noted by Deutsche Bank’s Reid as having reassured investors concerned about looser fiscal policy.
Brent crude slipped 1.2% to $72.25 a barrel overnight, while Wall Street closed higher, with the Dow Jones adding 0.6% to close above 52,000 for the first time and the Nasdaq leaping 2.1%.