Risk-on mood pushes the FTSE 0.74% higher

Yesterday at a glance: the FTSE went up to 7,627.2 yesterday, gaining 0.74%.

This move comes while some more positive signs for the FTSE are out as data for United Kingdom Retail Sales published yesterday at 06:00 UTC came out at 0.5%, beating projections of 0.4% and showing improvement over the preceding figure of -1.2%.

At the same time, United Kingdom CFTC GBP speculative net positions released yesterday at 20:30 UTC with a figure of 11,600, while the previous figure was 12,600. United Kingdom Core Retail Sales improved upon its previous reading of -1.4% with a new data release of 0.8%.

The FTSE shows positive signs, other assets are also on par: Nasdaq is trading around 12,976 after ending yesterday's session at 12,700 (up 2.19% today). S&P 500 is trading around 4,205.45 after ending yesterday's session at 4,151.28 (up 1.3% today).

At the same time, Hang Seng dips 1.93% yesterday and closed at 19,100.

The index has been trending lower for about a month. Having set a significant high of 8,012.53 3 months ago, the FTSE is trading 5.51% lower.