FTSE 100 adds £38bn in best one-day rise since April

The FTSE 100 has enjoyed its biggest one-day rise since April as European markets ended a rollercoaster week on a positive note.

London's leading share index rose by 149 points, or 2.3%, adding nearly £38bn to the value of its constituent companies.

The FTSE had sunk by more than 100 points on Thursday to its lowest level in more than two years but Friday's rally saw it bounce back sharply.

US stocks also pushed higher on Friday in a choppy session.

Among the biggest boosts to the FTSE were oil giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: 0LN9.L - news) while exporters such as British American Tobacco (Kuala Lumpur: 4162.KL - news) enjoyed strong gains too.

Markets in Germany and France also rose strongly.

Traders took their cue from an earlier rally on Wall Street, which has also had week of sharp ups and downs.

New York's Dow Jones Industrial Average surged by 5% on Boxing Day - climbing by 1,000 points for the first time ever.

It then see-sawed wildly on Thursday to end the session 260 points higher, hours after European markets had closed.

Wall Street had a more mixed session on Friday.

The volatile performance of markets in recent days follows on from a bleak pre-Christmas period, when US markets suffered their worst week for seven years.

Investors have been faced with a cocktail of worries including fears of a slowdown in the global economy and a US recession, as well as the trade war between Washington and Beijing, and continued Brexit uncertainty.

On top of that, markets have been jittery about the impact of the US government shutdown as well as Donald Trump's spat with the US Federal Reserve over interest rates.

FXTM analyst Lukman Otunga said: "The final trading week of 2018 has been explosively volatile and wildly unpredictable.

"Global sentiment repeatedly swung from extremely bearish to bullish as investors tussled with concerns over slowing global growth, US-China trade developments, Brexit-related uncertainty and a partial US government shutdown."

Oanda analyst Stephen Innes said: "This rollercoaster ride is unlikely to stop anytime soon as investors continue to wear emotions on their sleeve."