Risk-on mood pushes the FTSE 0.74% higher

Yesterday at a glance: FTSE closed yesterday at 7,627.2 (with a daily low of 7,557) after ending Thursday at 7,571 and gaining 0.74%.

The FTSE upside coincides with further encouraging market factors 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%.

Meanwhile, 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 climbs 1.3% yesterday and closed at 4,151.28.

Meanwhile, Hang Seng lost 1.93% yesterday and closed at 19,100.

The index has been trending lower for about a month. 3 months ago the FTSE reached a significant high of 8,012.53 but has consequently lost 5.51% since then.