LONDON, July 20 — Commodity and banking stocks helped the FTSE 100 rebound today after surging coronavirus cases and fears of an economic slowdown pushed the index to a two-month low in the previous session.
Banks jumped 1.3 per cent after Catherine Mann, a top economist who will soon join the Bank of England’s rate-setting committee, joined interest-rate setter Jonathan Haskel to say cutting stimulus support too early was not the right option. Two BoE monetary policy members last week said the time might be nearing for the BoE to rein in its huge stimulus programme.
“It will be difficult to keep planning hikes in case the economy is hurt again, while... you cannot ignore inflation if it continues to skyrocket well above your objective.”Among stocks, global miner Anglo American jumped 1.5 per cent after it said its production rose by 20 per cent in the second quarter, driven by strong diamond and platinum output.