Autumn Budget 24: UK stocks rally while gilt yields soar as 'questions remain' around fiscal headroom

Gilts reach year-to-date high

UK stock and bond markets have provided mixed initial reactions to the chancellor’s Autumn Budget pledges as she unveiled less severe tax increases than had been expected by some sectors, but increased borrowing commitments.

According to data from MarketWatch, the FTSE 100 rose by almost 0.4% to over 8,200 as Reeves spoke, a level that has since declined to around 8,174 at the time of reporting.  Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 has risen by 1.1% since markets opened this morning (30 October) after falling earlier on Tuesday (29 October).  During the chancellor's speech, sterling strengthened against the dollar to above $1.3, having dropped below $1.295 earlier today. Smaller companies also received a boost as the FTSE AIM All Share index rallied by around 3.8% over the course of the chancellor's speech, accord...