FTSE 100 climbs as markets boosted by ECB rate cut

The FTSE 100 made gains amid a positive session for global markets after the European Central Bank (ECB) moved to cut interest rates.

Gains from energy firms and London’s oil majors helped support trading in the City.

The blue-chip index nevertheless finished below its intraday highs after a mixed start to trading on Wall Street took the edge off early positive sentiment.

London’s top index finished 47.03 points, or 0.57%, higher to end the day at 8,240.97.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: “The FTSE 100 bounced back sharply on Thursday following a strong session in Asia and Wall Street overnight, after US inflation fell to its lowest level in more than three years.

“The FTSE 100 benefited from a rebound in energy prices, which lifted heavyweight constituents BP and Shell.

“Crude moved higher on supply risks associated with Hurricane Francine and its impact on operations in the US Gulf of Mexico.”

Elsewhere in Europe, sentiment across the main indexes was firmly positive after the ECB’s rate-setting council lowered the deposit rate from 3.75% to 3.5% at a meeting.

The Cac 40 ended 0.52% higher for the day and the Dax index was down 0.97% at the close.

Meanwhile, sterling was robust after easing US inflation and the ECB rate cut weighed on the other major currencies.

The pound was up 0.33% at 1.308 US dollars, and up 0.09% at 1.185 euros.

In company news, Trainline shares were on the right track on Thursday after the ticketing platform firm said fewer strike days and more people switching to digital tickets fuelled an uptick in sales.

Trainline generated £2 billion in net ticket sales from UK consumers over the six months to August, 15% higher than the prior year.

As a result, shares in the company ticked 9.2% higher to 327.8p.

Elsewhere, drinks firm Fever-Tree saw its shares slide to their lowest level for almost eight years after poor weather put a dampener on summer drinks demand across Europe.

It said sales were impacted by a “tough” consumer backdrop and summer arriving belatedly across the continent, particularly impacting June.

Investors were left unimpressed, with shares dropping by 11.6% to 762.5p in response.

Rentokil was among the notable fallers on the FTSE 100 after analysts reduced their guidance for the pest control business following its profit warning on Wednesday.

Shares had already tumbled after Rentokil said a slowdown in its North American business was set to drag on profits. Shares slipped a further 2.1% to 372p on Thursday.

The price of oil rebounded further during the session after slipping to a near-three-year low earlier in the week after Opec cut its outlook.

A barrel of Brent crude oil was up by 2.47% to 71.9 US dollars (£54.94) as markets were closing in London.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Intermediate Capital, up 96p to 2,248p, Sage Group, up 40.6p to 1,038p, Fresnillo, up 19p to 537.5p, JD Sports, up 5.1p to 144.9p, and Rolls-Royce, up 14.7p to 493.8p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were M&G, down 5.2p to 203.9p, Rentokil, down 8.1p to 372p, AstraZeneca, down 258p to 12,050p, Haleon, down 6.6p to 387.4p, and Severn Trent, down 32p to 2,658p.