Banks were the strongest segment in the stock market at the end of the week, as government bond yields lurched back higher on both sides of the Pond.
Contributing to those gains, overnight the US President pledged that all Americans would be eligible for vaccination against Covid-19 by 1 May.
On the back of the Biden administration’s new goal, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note rose by 10 basis points to 1.63%, with that on similarly-dated Gilts nine basis points higher at 0.83%.
Higher long-term rates on the other side of the Atlantic also weighed on Sterling, which was falling 0.49% to 1.3923.
That did however help Aerospace and Defence issues.
Echoing the same theme seen throughout the remainder of the week, the advance in bond yields dragged on Technology Hardware and Software issues, although selling was far from enough to wipe out the rally seen during the previous sessions.
Top performing sectors so far today
Banks 2,866.29 +1.54%
Aerospace and Defence 3,661.87 +1.38%
Personal Goods 34,244.61 +1.29%
Life Insurance 8,206.28 +1.07%
Food Producers 7,541.08 +1.04%
Bottom performing sectors so far today
Technology Hardware & Equipment 1,956.03 -2.36%
Electronic & Electrical Equipment 9,852.48 -1.24%
Software & Computer Services 1,936.85 -1.23%
Real Estate Investment & Services 2,448.91 -1.16%
Chemicals 14,288.13 -1.14%
