A man stands outside the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, on March 9, 2020. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua)
The benchmark has jumped 6 percent so far this year.
LONDON, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The FTSE 100 index, the leading benchmark for blue chip companies listed in the United Kingdom (UK), has passed the 8,000-point mark for the first time on Wednesday afternoon, reaching another all-time high of 8,003.65.
"The overarching reason for the increase comes from renewed optimism that inflation has peaked, which paves the way for central banks to introduce some slack when it comes to monetary tightening," said Sophie Lund-Yates, an analyst at financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown.
Official data showed on Wednesday that the UK's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 10.1 percent in the 12 months to January, hitting a five-month low. In its February forecast, the Bank of England said inflation was projected to fall to around 8 percent by the middle of this year.
A cashier counts pound coins in a money change bureau in central London, Britain, on Oct. 8, 2016. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
Overall, the message from Wednesday's inflation release was clear: domestic inflationary pressures is fading, and this suggests that the end of the Bank of England's tightening cycle just got a bit closer, said Ruth Gregory, an economist at Capital Economics consultancy.
In early February, the FTSE 100 hit a then all-time high at 7,906.58. After days of strong performance, it continued the momentum on Wednesday. The benchmark has jumped 6 percent so far this year.
"The recent momentum has been astounding in its speed, and highlights that the outlook for UK plc has turned a corner. Fundamentally, though, sentiment could shift quickly depending on the outcome of central bank decisions," said Lund-Yates.
A weaker British pound against the U.S. dollar also helped on Wednesday. "After a U.S. inflation number which proved a mild disappointment to the market, price rises easing a little less than hoped, the UK's own inflation reading came in lower than expected," said Russ Mould, investment director at the online investment platform AJ Bell.
"The divergence in inflation figures, relative to expectations, on either side of the Atlantic did result in weakness for the British pound. This in turn helped provide support to the FTSE 100 by boosting the relative value of its dominant overseas earnings," Mould added.
People walk past promotional signs in Manchester, Britain, Dec. 13, 2022. (Photo by Jon Super/Xinhua)■
