FTSE 100 hits fresh high as US and China put trade war 'on hold'

Broke through 7,800 points

The FTSE 100 broke through 7,800 points for the first time ever in early morning trading after Washington and Beijing agreed to put trade tariffs "on hold" following an agreement to reduce the US's deficit with China.

US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin told Fox News on Sunday China had agreed a framework that includes purchasing more US products. "We are putting the trade war on hold, right now, we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework," Mnuchin said. On the news, the US dollar rose to a four-month high against sterling, climbing 0.5% to £0.746 while against the yen it jumped 0.5% to ¥111.3100. The fall in sterling subsequently sent the FTSE 100 up 0.9% to 7,848 points due to the high number of companies in the index that earn their profits in dollars. ...