The FTSE-100 rose another 76.49 points, or 1.26% to 6,144.25 today as market sentiment over Covid-19 continued to improve.
Germany’s Dax index gained 1.33% and France’s Cac 40 was up nearly 1.8% amid growing signs the virus is loosening its grip on the global economy.
In the US, where president Donald Trump is keen to get life back to normal as quickly as possible, the Dow Jones index was up by 0.5% by the London market close.
Russ Mould, investment director at financial services firm AJ Bell, said: “More people are returning to work, a greater number of shops are preparing to reopen and society has quickly become accustomed to social distancing.
“This shift in behaviour sends a positive signal to markets as it helps to remove layers of uncertainty which have been hanging over share prices.
“Markets saw a bounce back in April and have been nudging ahead, albeit at a much slower rate, in May.”
He added: “Brexit issues, US-China relations, political unrest in Hong Kong and fears over a second wave of coronavirus could knock markets off track at the click of a finger, yet for now investors are regaining their appetite for stocks.”
“The world getting back on its feet has given them a lot of encouragement, helped by hopes over various potential vaccines being developed in the fight against coronavirus.”
But the markets may be getting over-optimistic about the pace of corporate earnings recovery, he warned, adding: “If financial results don’t match expectations in the coming months, the stock market rally could come under threat.”
Shares in travel giant Tui rocketed nearly 16% to 530.4p as summer holiday prospects continued to improve.
Meanwhile, Brent crude oil was down 2.4% at $35.85 per barrel, as of 5.30pm.
