A weaker pound helped drive the UK’s top share index to 7,838 points, a gain of 0.78% on the day for a new intra-day high. Firms with large overseas earnings, including group Johnson Matthey and advertising giant WPP, benefitted from the fall in sterling. Last week, Property Week revealed that WPP was working up plans to expand its operations into the regions in a bid to avoid losing more staff to tech rivals.

Alongside the fall in sterling, analysts said a key factor in the record rise was the US decision to postpone $150bn of threatened tariffs on Chinese imports with the US government suggesting that the planned trade war was “on hold”.