Yahoo Finance FTSE rises as King Charles III becomes monarch after death of the Queen
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) pushed higher on Friday as King Charles III became monarch after the death of Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96.
London’s benchmark index closed 1.4% higher on the day, with mining companies leading the way thanks to a softening dollar.
Meanwhile the CAC (^FCHI) rose 1.4% in Paris, and the DAX (^GDAXI) was 1.3% higher in Frankfurt.
The King, who arrived in London this afternoon, is due to meet new prime minister Liz Truss later in the day and make a televised address to the nation, which he is due to pre-record, in the early evening.
He will pay tribute to the Queen and pledge his duty to his service as the new sovereign.
Elsewhere, the London Stock Exchange (LSEG.L) confirmed that markets will remain open as normal during the official period of mourning.
It said it would notify markets of any subsequent changes to operating arrangements via a further notice, adding that it recognised public bank holidays in England and Wales.
It is expected that the funeral of Queen Elizabeth will be a public holiday.
Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Avatrade said: “Investors are digesting the sad news of the Queen’s death in the UK and contemplating Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s most recent statements on inflation.”
Read more: Five ways the UK may become a crypto hub under Liz Truss government
Across the pond on Wall Street, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 1.3% at the time of the European close, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) climbed 1.8%. The Dow Jones (^DJI) edged 1% higher.
US stocks ended with modest gains on Thursday, recovering from early losses after the European Central Bank’s (ECB) rate hike announcement, and comments from US Fed chief Jerome Powell.
He said that the American central bank must continue to act "strongly" to cool demand and contain price pressures.
The New York Stock Exchange (^AMZI) and Nasdaq both observed a moment of silence on Thursday to honour the Queen.
Read more: ECB announces biggest interest rate hike in its history to tackle inflation
Elsewhere, stocks in Asia edged up on Friday, following an advance on Wall Street as traders prepared for further central bank interest rate hikes.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei (^N225) climbed 0.5% while the Hang Seng (^HSI) surged 2.8% on the day, and the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) closed 0.8% higher, despite lower-than-expected inflation data out of China overnight.
The dollar fetched 143.78 yen in early Asia trade, against 144.27 yen in New York late on Thursday.
