London’s blue chips shrugged off a big chunk of ex-dividend adjustments to head higher in anticipation of what is expected to be the first significant rate cut of the current cycle by the European Central Bank.
Canada’s central bank cut this week and if the ECB delivers it will put more pressure on the Bank of England and Fed to follow suit.
The Footsie was up five points early on led by copper miner Antofagasta and JD Sports.
Ocado fell again having had its expulsion from the FTSE 100 confirmed overnight.
Cyber firm Darkrtrace, housebuilder Vistry and property group LondonMetric are moving up.
Nvidia has overtaken Apple by market value after a new surge of buying sent its value above US$3 trillion.
Here, mixer specialist Fevertree said it remained "comfortable with full-year expectations", reporting market share gains and topline growth.
