London stocks had extended gains by midday on Thursday as investors waded through a deluge of retail updates and eyed the latest US inflation data.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.7% at 7,781.84.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “On a ‘Super Thursday’ for Christmas trading updates, the FTSE 100 maintained its recent momentum to trade higher.
“So far it feels like retailers are doing better than feared – with some notable exceptions. How far you extrapolate this resilience depends on your view of whether households have already faced the worst of the impact of mounting bills and rising interest rates.
“However, with many people still to roll off cheap fixed-term mortgage deals and further increases in the energy price cap to come, there is certainly no room for complacency.
“Later on, US inflation figures are released. These could determine whether the relatively positive sentiment seen so far in 2023 can be maintained, given the influence this data point has on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy.”
Jarvis Investment Management Ltd offers a wide range of stockbroking and administration services and solutions. Their parent company, Jarvis Securities plc (LON:JIM) is listed on AIM.