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The FTSE 100 hit another record high on Wednesday, despite concerns over the US shutdown, as pharmaceutical stocks powered higher, with AstraZeneca up 11% alone.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 96.00 points, 1.0%, at 9,446.43, beating its previous record close on Tuesday.
The blue chip index had earlier set a new best level of 9,457.91.
The FTSE 250 ended 34.14 points higher, 0.2%, at 22,049.70, and the AIM All-Share ended up 3.24 points, 0.4%, at 786.41.
AstraZeneca led the FTSE 100 and rose 11%, regaining its crown as the most valuable FTSE 100 stock from HSBC, while peers Hikma Pharmaceuticals and GSK rose 5.7% and 6.2% respectively.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced a deal granting Pfizer a three-year reprieve on planned tariffs as the New York-based, pharmaceutical company vowed to voluntarily lower the prices of unspecified drug
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