London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 1.2 percent compared with the close on Friday as Wall Street opened for trading. US equities also pushed higher at the open of trading, with the Dow gaining 0.8 percent during the first minute of trading. “Investors are breathing a sigh of relief after the torrid times last week, with European equity markets rallying,” said Rebecca O’Keeffe, head of investment at Interactive Investor. After a stellar 2017 and a January that saw record and multi-year highs for stock markets around the world, traders are banking profits as rising US inflation lifts interest rates. Hong Kong, which sank more than nine percent last week, closed down 0.2 percent, though Shanghai closed up 0.8 percent and Singapore rose 0.1 percent.

Source: The Guardian February 12, 2018 14:48 UTC