The FTSE 100 rose 0.5% on Tuesday, extending the previous session’s gains and pushing decisively above the 10,000 mark to a new all-time high, driven by strong performances in heavyweight energy stocks BP and Shell, alongside miners, which benefited from a broad rally in metals prices. Retailer NEXT jumped 3% after upgrading its profit guidance, forecasting after-tax earnings of 738.8 pence per share, above market expectations, following a more than 10% surge in sales in December. Insurer Prudential added 1.7% after announcing plans for a share buyback programme of up to $1.2 billion (£0.9 billion), set to be completed by December 18 this year. On the data front, figures from the British Retail Consortium showed food price inflation accelerated to 3.3% year on year in December, up from 3% in November, driven by adverse weather and poor harvests. Overall shop price inflation also edged higher, rising to 0.7% from 0.6% the previous month.
