London's FTSE 100 continues to make gains after a record-breaking week

The FTSE 100, continues to climb after a week that saw it smash records

London’s premier stock index, the FTSE 100, clung to its gains after a week that saw it smash records, with Monday’s trading keeping the market on an upward trajectory to hit fresh all-time highs.

The index was buoyed by a strong performance from mining and financial services stocks, nudging the FTSE 100 up by 7.2 points, or 0.09%, to end the day at 8,147.03 marking yet another record high closing price. This increase comes on the heels of a stellar week for the FTSE 100, which rode the wave of robust earnings reports and buzz around takeover bids for companies listed in London.

Susannah Streeter, the financial whizz at Hargreaves Lansdown, commented: “April has been a record-breaking month for the blue-chip index, with a glass-half full sentiment dominating. The FTSE has gained more than 11% over the last six months, with super-patient investors finally rewarded by this spurt of growth.”

She also pointed out the significant role of the weakening pound against the dollar, stating: “The weaker pound against the dollar has been a key player in the power surge, with the greenback gaining ground against a basket of currencies on the latest interest rate expectations.”

While the FTSE soared, its European counterparts didn’t fare as well; Germany’s Dax dipped by 0.16% and France’s Cac 40 dropped 0.29%. Stateside, the US markets kicked off on a positive note, with Tesla shares rocketing amid news of Elon Musk’s meeting with China’s premier in Beijing.

By the time the European markets wrapped up, the S&P 500 had risen by 0.25% and the Dow Jones by 0.2%. Meanwhile, the pound had a strong session, rising 0.45% to 1.255 US dollars and increasing by 0.3% to 1.171 euros.

In corporate news, shares in Hipgnosis Songs Fund saw a slight increase as the competition for the music royalties fund intensified. Hipgnosis announced that it has accepted a takeover offer of 1.6 billion US dollars from US private equity behemoth Blackstone, outbidding rival suitor Concord’s £1.2 billion bid made last week.

Since the bidding war began in mid-April, Hipgnosis’ shares have skyrocketed by 50%. On Monday, its share price closed just 0.4% higher. Elsewhere, Anglo American was one of the day’s biggest gainers amid rumours that a potential buyer was considering upping their bid for the mining titan.

Last week, Anglo American revealed that it had turned down a takeover proposal from Australian competitor BHP, which would have resulted in the creation of the world’s largest copper miner. However, reports on Monday suggested that BHP was contemplating increasing its offer, which helped boost Anglo American’s shares by 4% on Monday.

The FTSE 100’s biggest risers were: Entain, up 34p to 818.2p; Anglo American, up 107p to 2,750p; DS Smith, up 11.6p to 351.6p; Frasers, up 24.5p to 820.5p; and Beazley, up 19.5p to 657.5p. The FTSE 100’s biggest fallers were: JD Sports, down 3.55p to 116.6p; Ashtead, down 130p to 5,974p; B&M European, down 10.8p to 517p; Centrica, down 2.65p to 131.05p; and ConvaTec, down 4.6p to 253.2p.