The FTSE 100 winning streak looks set to extend to eight back to back session of green closes, once again the industrial miners are leading the charge with Anglo American +2.4%, Fresinilo +2.5%, and Antofagasta +2.1% providing most of the heavy lifting for the sector and index as a whole. 

Entain, the owner of Ladbrokes sits at the top of the leaderboard for the session as investors cheered better-than-expected quarterly net gaming revenues aided by acquisition and strong demand in its retail outlets, fuelling a 6%+ rise in the shares. AstraZeneca was the standout in the pharma sector after receiving a shot in the arm from lab studies suggesting that its new Covid antibody will protect against all known variants of the disease, Astra shares are higher by 2.8%+ on the news.

Centrica sits towards the bottom of the index today, with the British Gas owner shedding over 1.5%+ on the session as plans to further regulate forced prepayment installations came short of a much-expected ban, new rules will mean that companies are forced to comply with a stricter code of conduct requirements meaning additional welfare visits and the implementation of body cameras for engineers to protect consumer safety rights.

On the fundamental front Employment data out of the UK, this morning has done little to alleviate pressure on the Bank of England, as employment growth expanded by 169k for the three-month period to February and pay growth jumped to 6.6% as the prior number was also revised higher suggesting further inflationary pressures for Bank officials to battle.

FTSE Bias: Intraday Bullish Above Bearish below 7875

• Primary supportis 7635
• Primary objective 7946
• Below 7500 opens 7400
• 20-Day VWAP bullish, 5-Day VWAP bullish

(Click on image to enlarge)

(Click on image to enlarge)

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