FTSE 100 hit new all-time closing high - as it happened

All the day's economic and financial news, as the UK stock market hits a record closing high

• BREAKING: London stock market hits record close of 7106
• Analyst: It's another Santa Rally
• FTSE up 12% since Brexit vote
• But weak pound has driven shares higher

Earlier:

• Dow Jones inches closer to 20,000 point landmark
• UK mortgage approvals dip in November
• Bovis Homes warns on profits

7.44pm GMT

Right, that's all for today.

Here's my news story about the FTSE 100 hitting a new record high tonight, for anyone just tuning in.

Related: FTSE 100 soars to new closing high

7.32pm GMT

Wall Street is failing to match the City's lead.

Shares are dropping back, so the Dow Jones is down almost 100 points at 19,847. That suggests that the Dow is not going to hit the 20,000 mark today. At least that gives us something to watch out for tomorrow.

7.21pm GMT

This is what I was banging on about earlier -- the FTSE 100 is actually down 6% this year if you measure it in US dollars (rather than up 13% in pounds).

So #FTSE at all-time-high...but as @GuyJohnsonTV would always say..check it out in $ terms. Still -5.7% YTD pic.twitter.com/x2ga8L9Why

7.12pm GMT

The London stock market's rally has helped to drive up the wealth of the richest in society, as well as boosting the value of pension funds and other asset managers.

Indeed, 2016 has been a vintage year for the ultra-rich - despite the backlash against populism this year (or perhaps helping to trigger it).

6.59pm GMT

With excellent timing, Bloomberg's JP Spinetto has highlighted how the British pound has been one of the worst-performing currencies this year.

Sterling has shed 17%, which puts the 13% jump in the FTSE 100's value this year into some context.

Very tight race between the GBP, Arg/Mexican peso & the Turkish lira for the title of worst main currency this year https://t.co/4UspXCSScQ pic.twitter.com/KIvS5cOFrJ

6.50pm GMT

This chart of the FTSE 100's best-performing shares shows how mining stocks drove the market to tonight's record close:

6.43pm GMT

With just two trading days to go, the City's mining sector in on track for its best year the aftermath of the financial crisis.

The Telegraph's Tara Cunningham explains:

London-listed miners are poised for their biggest annual gain since 2009 as firmer oil and commodity prices pushed the sector higher.

So far this year, the FTSE 350 mining index has rallied by 102%.

Market report: London-listed miners poised for best year since 2009 https://t.co/VL79gHUfcj

6.20pm GMT

Ruth Lea, economic adviser at Arbuthnot Banking Group, points out that the FTSE 250 index of smaller UK firms has also rallied since June:

#FTSE100 closes at new record high. #FTSE250 now comfortably above pre-redferendum level. Cautiously optimistic. https://t.co/h0A33YLryz

5.21pm GMT

City traders often talk about a "Santa Rally" this time of year, and once again the markets have provided.

David Cheetham, market analyst at online trading group XTB, explains:

"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."

5.04pm GMT

Today's FTSE 100 record high comes 20 months after the previous historic closing level.

That closing high, in April 2015, was followed by a sharp summer selloff triggered by fears over China's economy.

5.00pm GMT

Today's rally means the FTSE 100 is now 12% higher than on the day of the EU referendum in June.

That means that the value of Britain's biggest listed companies jumped by 12% in sterling terms since the vote.

4.39pm GMT

NEWSFLASH: Britain's stock market has hit its new all-time closing high, driven by strong gains in the mining sector.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 just closed 37 points higher at 7106.08, beating the 7103.98 point mark set in April 2015.

*U.K.'S FTSE 100 RISES 0.5% TO CLOSE AT A RECORD

The FTSE 100 is the star performer today, helped on its way higher by an excellent turn from the index's mining contingent. The sector was one of the really big winners in 2016, making a remarkable comeback over the past twelve months, and it makes sense to think that investors are looking to juice a few more points out of the rally as the year-end approaches. Meanwhile, Bovis Homes is down over 5%, dragging the housebuilder sector with it, as it issues an unexpected warning on completion levels.

It is always tough to issue a profit warning, but doubly so in the fallow period between Christmas and the New Year. The sector has gone from being a star performer in recent years to one of the hardest hit since Brexit; miners were the contrarian play for 2016, so the same could be said of a housing sector still supported by healthy demand and constricted supply.

4.32pm GMT

Right, the FTSE 100 has entered its closing auction.....so we'll find out any moment if it's hit a new all-time closing high.

4.03pm GMT

Back in the City, the FTSE 100 is hovering around its highest ever closing level in late trading.

The index is up 31 points at 7099, having earlier burst over its record closing level (7103.98).

3.46pm GMT

The Dow has now dropped into the red, down 23 points at 19,921, as the 20k mark proves a hurdle too far.....

Dow has been within 100 points of 20K the last 11 consecutive sessions - 7 of them within 50 points - and hasn't made it. Not yet, anyway.. pic.twitter.com/sZujfdlJqC

3.22pm GMT

We haven't seen the Dow hitting 20,000 points yet, but we have had the next best thing -- a group of pets helping to ring the opening bell on Wall Street.

Best Friends Animal Society had the honour of opening the session, to highlight their work preventing dogs and cats at America's shelters being put down.

2.48pm GMT

The Dow's early rally is fizzling out, after just 20 minutes of trading.

Rather than powering over the 20,000 point mark, the benchmark index has subsided back to its opening levels - like a Christmas diner who over-indulged on the mince pies and rather fancies a quiet day.

2.35pm GMT

US stock market watchers are bracing for another day of tension....

Here we go again. Dow comes within 20 points of 20000, and we're trapped here, waiting.

2.33pm GMT

The Dow is rising at the start of trading... up 29 points to 19,974, and bringing the 20k landmark even closer.

And the tech-heavy Nasdaq index has hit a new all-time high at the open, as the Trump Rally continues to drive shares higher.

2.30pm GMT

The opening bell is ringing on Wall Street, and traders are squinting at their screens to see if the Dow Jones will hit the 20,000 mark for the first time ever....

2.13pm GMT

Tensions is building on Wall Street as traders wonder whether the Dow Jones industrial average could smash through the 20,000 point mark today.

Last night, the Dow ended the day just 55 points shy of this new record. And the futures market suggests that the index could open higher at 9.30am local time (2.30pm GMT).

Thee Santa rally for the equity market continues and every single day investors hope that the DOW index breaks that 20K mark, but so far their wish has not been granted.

The 20K mark for the Dow has become a remarkable resistance and a break of this, could attract fresh capital.

When you finish ranting that the Dow's an irrelevant, ridiculous index, take a moment to note it's exactly tracked the S&P 500 for a decade. pic.twitter.com/RvpwPJJJSQ

1.57pm GMT

The London stock market isn't the only one rallying today.

Overnight, the Australian ASX 100 index jumped by 1% to its highest level in 2016, also thanks to demand for mining company shares.

Australian stocks hit the highest levels of this year and are set for a strong close on the back of higher commodity prices and firm appetite in global stock markets following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.

1.32pm GMT

The FTSE 100 is rising partly because the pound is falling.

Sterling remains at a two-month low against the US dollar, which pushes up the value of international firms listed in London.

Like a lot of Europeans, the single currency is spending the final days of 2016 on the slopes pic.twitter.com/piThGhdZ0O

1.18pm GMT

This chart shows how the FTSE 100 is back at April 2015's record closing level, in sterling terms anyway (ignoring the pound's fall against the US dollar since the Brexit vote)

12.34pm GMT

Britain's blue-chip index of the biggest listed companies has just crept above its alltime closing high.

In quiet trading, the FTSE 100 has risen by 35 points to above 7104 points, driven up by mining companies.

"Equities are posting small gains amid thin intra-holiday trading that is maintaining the Santa Rally into year-end.

The FTSE is boosted by higher oil prices supporting the commodities space, offsetting weakness among some big defensives, airlines (Airbus problems) and real estate (rates to rise and prices to fall in 2017?)

12.06pm GMT

Sterling has fallen to its lowest level since late October, as it ends the year on a weak note.

The pound has dropped by 0.4% this morning against the US dollar, to $1.223.

Full implementation will likely [lead to] a second material leg higher of the US dollar as the Fed is priced to react to inflationary pressures such a package would bring. However, implementation of President Trump's protectionist and isolationist rhetoric would narrow the breadth of any dollar rally, with the Japanese yen and the euro the beneficiaries.'

11.24am GMT

Stockbroking firm Numis is hopeful that Bovis will get back on track next year, despite missing its housebuilding targets for 2016.

They say:

Bovis has announced that due to production delays and the deferral of 180 completions into 2017, it now anticipates full year results to be c11% below Numis expectations.

We are leaving 2017 estimates unchanged reflecting the expected completion of the deferred units and a better position with regard to planning and production.

10.17am GMT

The drop in UK mortgage approvals last month could be a sign that the property sector will struggle next year.

Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight believes that prices could actually fall, after several years of strong increases.

9.44am GMT

BREAKING: The number of new mortgage approved in the UK fell last month, in another sign that the property sector is slowing.

High street banks approved 40,659 new loans for home purchases in November, down from 40,835 in October, and 9% lower than a year ago.

UK BBA mortgage approvals Nov 40.659k vs 41.4k expected: UK November BBA mortgage approvals report 28 Dec - 40.835k" https://t.co/Daf7oNUeE3 pic.twitter.com/aq5C8IbYpP

Consumer credit annual growth fell back in November to around 6% despite strong retail sales. Growth continues to be supported in the case of personal loans by favourable interest rates.

9.30am GMT

Bovis's failure to hit its sales targets this year could be a sign that the UK housing sector is now suffering from the Brexit vote.

Analyst Russ Mould of stockbrokers AJ Bell says:

A profit warning from FTSE 250 firm Bovis is another crack in the wall when it comes to the house builders sector....

Bovis has today stated that legal completion volumes will rise by just 1% to 2% in 2016 year, rather than the targeted 5% as the sale of 180 homes has slipped from this year to next, owing to slower-than-expected build production in December.

9.22am GMT

Despite Bovis's woes, the London stock market has risen slightly in the first trading day of the week.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 has gained 15 points to 7084, led by mining companies such as BHP Billiton (+4%) and Anglo American (+3%).

8.41am GMT

Shares in UK housebuilders are falling in early trading, following Bovis's unscheduled warning on profits.

Bovis fell over 5%, followed by rival building firms Crest Nicholson (-1.7%), Berkeley Group (-1.6%) and John Laing (-1.3%).

Trading update 2 wks earlier than expected from Bovis Homes...& it contains a profit warning. Fewer houses built & sold in Dec than forecast

Bovis Homes shares fall 5.8% after it says volume delivery for 2016 will be lower than expected

Bovis! Not a great start. Slower than expected homes production in this morning's RNS. #BVS

8.28am GMT

Newsflash: One of Britain's largest housebuilders has warned that it will fail to sell as many homes as planned this year.

We expect the volume delivery for 2016 will be lower than previously anticipated at between 3,950 and 4,000 homes, the exact number depending on the extent of legal completions in the remaining days of the year.

We have experienced slower than expected build production across the Group's sites during December, resulting in approximately 180 largely built and sold private homes which were expected to complete in 2016 being deferred into early 2017.

8.15am GMT

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.

In a survey of 1,118 managers, the CMI found 65% were pessimistic about the UK's economic outlook for the next 12-18 months. Their caution over 2017 followed what appeared to be a tough year for many organisations, when only 39% said they had grown, the lowest proportion since 2012 when the shockwaves from the eurozone debt crisis hit the UK economy. A further 39% said business levels had stayed roughly the same in 2016 and 22% said their business had declined.

Asked about the impact of Brexit on economic growth in the next three to five years, 49% thought it would be negative. But a sizeable 37% believed leaving the EU would have a positive impact on the UK economy and 14% said it would have no impact.

Related: Majority of managers think Brexit uncertainty will affect UK economy

Our European opening calls:$FTSE 7073 +0.07%
$DAX 11482 +0.08%
$CAC 4846 -0.05%$IBEX 9346 -0.33%$MIB 19390 0.00%

The U.S. Consumer Confidence Index for December surged nearly four points to 113.7, THE HIGHEST LEVEL IN MORE THAN 15 YEARS! Thanks Donald!