The FTSE 100 index has remained in a consolidation phase in the past few weeks as investors focus on the Bank of England (BoE) actions and the upcoming tariffs by the Donald Trump administration. The index was trading at £8,665 on Wednesday, a few points below its all-time high of £8,910.
Bank of England actions
The FTSE 100 index has remained in a tight range as investors focused on the actions of the Bank of England. The BoE has become one of the most conservative central banks in the industry.
It has delivered just three interest rate cuts in this cycle, bringing the headline rate to 4.50%. Officials have hinted that they will maintain their conservative leaning in the coming meetings even as the economy weakened.
The most recent economic data showed that the UK economy contracted slightly in January, a trend that may continue this year.
A key concern is that Donald Trump may decide to increase tariffs on imported goods from the UK next week. On the positive side, the US and the UK have a fairly balanced trade relationship, meaning that it may be excluded from tariffs by the US.
Therefore, some analysts believe that the BoE should embrace a more dovish tone since interest rates remain high, hurting growth. This explains why UK bond yields have continued rising, with the 10-year bunds yielding 4.75%, and the closely-watched 5-year yielding 4.40%.
The rising bond yields partially explain why the FTSE 100 index has remained under pressure since investors are receiving a higher return by just investing in the bond market.
Economists expect that UK inflation will remain elevated for a while. Data released on Wednesday will show that the headline CPI remained at 3.0%, while the core CPI softened from 3.7% to 3.6%. These numbers are substantially higher than the BoE target of 2.0%.
Top FTSE 100 shares in 2025
Most companies in the FTSE 100 index have risen this year. Fresnillo, a Mexican company that mines silver, is the best-performing company in the Footsie as it jumped by 50% this year. This surge happened as investors predicted more revenue and profits because of higher silver prices.
Airtel Africa share price has jumped by 43% this year, becoming one of the best telecom companies globally. The stock jumped after the company’s revenue growth accelerated. Its customer count jumped by 7.9% to 163.1 million, while the revenue in the last quarter jumped by 20% to $3.6 billion.
Rolls-Royce share price has soared as investors cheered its strong results that showed that it reached its mid-year target two years ahead of schedule.
Other top-performing companies in the FTSE 100 index this year are names like BAE Systems, Lloyds Banking Group, Prudential, Coca-Cola, Standard Chartered, Aviva, and Antofagasta.
On the other hand, the top laggards in the index are companies like WPP, JD Sports, Diageo, Intercontinental Hotels, Sainsbury, and Glencore. All these companies have crashed by over 10% this year.
FTSE 100 index technical analysis
FTSE 100 index chart | Source: TradingView
The daily chart shows that the FTSE 100 index has been in an uptrend in the past few months. It soared to a record high of £8,908, and then dropped. This decline was important as the stock retested the important support level at £8,473, the highest swing on May 15. This retreat was part of a break-and-retest chart pattern, a popular continuation sign.
The index has remained above the 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA), a sign that bulls are in control. Therefore, a combination of these moving averages and the break-and-retest points to further gains, potentially to the all-time high of £8,908. A break above that level will point to more gains, potentially to £9,000.
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