The FTSE 100 of leading blue chip companies has passed through many record highs over the last 12 months - albeit with some swings along the way, as the chart above shows.

Analysts have attributed the rise to the weaker pound - which benefits companies with earnings overseas - as well as gains in global stock markets and faster growth in the world economy.

The index initially got off to a sluggish start to the year, having finished 2017 at a record high.

But gains today for shares in commodity firms - helped by rising oil prices - and a US-led rally in stock markets helped the FTSE 100 finish at a fresh record high of 7,695.88 points.

It's not only Wall Street which is in record territory today. The UK's FTSE 100 index is on course for another record closing high after crossing 7,700 points for the first time.

Analysts said some of the optimism for US stock markets had spread to UK equities too, giving the FTSE a mid-afternoon pick-me-up.

The index of the UK's 100 biggest stocks hit 7,702.51 points - an all-time high for during trading.

Commodity stocks are among the winners - helped by oil reaching a two-and-a-half year high - while retailers are among the losers after Debenhams issued a warning about its Christmas sales.

Shares in Debenhams have picked up slightly from an earlier plunge, but they are still down more than 17% after the retailer issued a profit warning today.

Following a 2.6% fall in sales in the crucial festive trading period, the retailer said underlying pre-tax profits were now likely to be between £55m and £65m this year.

Analysts had been expecting profits to be about £83m.

Shares in Debenhams have plunged more than 18% at the open of the London markets after issuing a profit warning following disappointing Christmas sales.

The FTSE 100 is slightly ahead, up 0.15% or 11.2 points to 7,682.30.

Security firm G4S is up 3.2% after winning a contract to secure properties belonging to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The FTSE 250 is fairly flat, down 0.06% or 12.8 points to 20,731.13.

The top winner on the index is Ocado, up 2.8%, while the losers are led by Hochschild Mining, which fell 2.3%.

The UK's 100 share index started the year on the back foot yesterday but has bounced back with a 0.3% rise.

The FTSE 100 has finished 23 points higher at 7,671.11, just 16 points shy of the record high it hit at the end of 2017.

Next was the big winner - rising by more than 6% - but there were also gains for BP and Shell as oil prices rose above $67 a barrel on the back of protests in Iran, a major oil producer.

Analysts said the index - which contains a large number of companies which make money outside the UK - benefited from a fall in the pound.

Sterling is trading 0.5% lower against the dollar at $1.35210 and has fallen 0.3% against the euro to €1.12410.

You don't have to be a Next shareholder to find something to cheer about in the retailer's sales update. Perhaps the most interesting thing for a wider audience was the chief executive's comments on inflation.

Lord Wolfson said that inflation in clothing prices would fall to 2% in the first half of this year and disappear completely in the second. Back in March of last year, the company warned it might have to put prices up by 5% because the sharp fall in the pound after the referendum raised the price of imported goods.

Next subsequently revised that figure down and today's comments are the clearest indication yet that the inflationary impact of that fall in the pound is working its way out of the system.

That is good news for everyone - whether you shop at Next or not.

Carillion shares are down 3.7% at 17.3p after the FCA announced it's looking into the "timeliness and content" of announcements the firm made at the end of 2016 and the first half of 2017.

The firm's shares initially fell more than 8% as you can see above.

Carillion's market capitalisation stands at about £70m, according to Thomson Reuters data.

But its small beer compared to the shape of its past year trading as you can see from the graph below.

Shares in UK retailer Next have risen this morning following positive Christmas trading figures.

They are now up 9.53% or 429 points to 4,929.00.

Investors seem to have anticipated a stronger performance from the fashion chain; its shares rose in late December as you can see from the graph above.

The FTSE 100 has opened flat, up just 0.21 points to 7,648.31, led by Marks & Spencer, which is trading up 2.8% to 324.8p on the news it sold its Hong Kong and Macau business to its partner Al-Futtaim.

The FTSE 250 is slightly ahead, up 0.22% or 46.2 points to 20,727.66.

The biggest winner on the index is JD Williams and Figleaves owner N Brown Group, up 3.8% to 276.8p.