The FTSE 100, the UK’s blue chip index of leading companies, finished the year at a record high of 7,142.83, some 13 points higher than the peak set in October. The final surge in the index owed much to the rise in international companies with non-Sterling revenues and mining stocks in particular. A late rise in the price of Brent crude also lifted the oil sector stocks. There was also broader support for the index as post-Brexit economic data continued to come in better than expected. Underlining all of this, was a an optimistic outlook for the US economy at the prospect of tax cuts and infrastructure spending.