The UK's FTSE 100 stalled on Thursday after touching a record high in the prior session as investors sought clarity on U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies, while shares in CMC Markets tumbled on a disappointing forecast.

Wall Street rally holds strong as S&P 500 beats December record high - New York’s S&P 500 index moved about 0.8% higher to surpass last month’s intra-day record high.

Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.7 per cent, as a jump in sterling hurt export-oriented firms, while Burberry soared after a strong US holiday season helped the luxury firm beat quarterly sales expectations. The FTSE 250 mid-cap index ended flat.

(Sharecast News) - London stocks nudged higher in early trade on Friday following a positive session on Wall Street, after US President Donald Trump said he would "rather not" impose tariffs on China. At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 8,576.35.

U.S. markets are poised to open with gains Wednesday on a sustained strong showing from some big corporations during earnings season and an announcement from President Donald Trump on a $500 billion AI investment partnership.

The FTSE 100 index is seen moving closer to a record high after back-to-back sessions in which London’s top flight has risen 1%. Futures trading points to a rise of about 18 points to 8410, not far from May’s intraday high of 8474 and the closing peak of 8445.

U.S. stocks are recoiling on worries that good news on the job market may prove to be bad for Wall Street by keeping inflation and interest rates high.

Wall Street was mixed in premarket trading on Thursday as major U.S. airlines stumbled and health insurance companies soared

Another engine of value creation for Wall Street that has been slow in recent years is the IPO market — which is also set to pick up.

The FTSE 100 ( ^FTSE) and European stocks were muted on Thursday as consumer confidence in the British economy tumbled to a new low amid recession fears.

Katie Potts (pictured) has led Herald Investment Trust since its inception 30 years ago and has been hailed for her backing of a host of successful British firms.

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