Britain’s beleaguered stock market soared for a second day as analysts said a vaccine could help the economy bounce back to pre-pandemic levels next year.
Almost £125billion has been added to the value of UK stocks this week, after US firm Pfizer on Monday announced a Covid vaccine which was 90 per cent effective.
The FTSE 100 index of major companies climbed another 1.8 per cent to 6296.85 yesterday – a level not seen since June – as investors brushed off figures showing a record 314,000 workers were made redundant over the summer.
Almost £125bn has been added to the value of UK stocks this week, after US firm Pfizer on Monday announced a Covid vaccine which was 90 per cent effective
Among the winners were Rolls-Royce and British Airways owner IAG while Cineworld and Upper Crust owner SSP soared – though all remain well down on the year.
The rally came despite the Office for National Statistics saying 314,000 were made redundant in the three months to September. Unemployment is at a four-year high of 4.8 per cent, at 1.62m.
The number of 16 to 24-year-olds in employment is 3.52m, the lowest level since records began in 1992.
But analysts upgraded their forecasts for the UK economy.
Douglas McWilliams, at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said the economy could recover all of its lost ground ‘as early as mid-2021’.
Paul Dales at Capital Economics and Simon French at Panmure Gordon brought their predictions for a recovery forward from the first half of 2023 to the beginning of 2022.
The FTSE All Share index rose 1.6 per cent, bringing its gains this week to 6.5 per cent, adding £123billion to the value of the UK’s listed companies.
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