That’s all for tonight (although I might pop back and add some front pages later).

Here’s our latest news story about the markets:

Goodnight and thanks for reading and commenting! GW

This chart of the FTSE 250 index of smaller UK companies this year shows how it has scrambled back from the Brexit shock last month (red for down, green for up):

Ken Odeluga, market analyst at trading firm City Index, says companies most focused on the UK got the biggest boost today from Theresa May’s rise to the top.

We believe ‘pure-play’ UK equities have rallied on relief that the more pragmatic, less conspicuously ideological and more experienced candidate has emerged as Britain’s next Prime Minster, ahead of difficult and multi-faceted discussions with a wounded and potentially vengeful EU.

Investors were pleased to focus on political developments, rather than the Bank of England’s promises to cushion the impact of Brexit.

As Odeluga puts it:

We note markets shrugged off revolving doors in the Conservative leadership contest and Labour’s failure to open a trapdoor under its own chief.

It has taken the withdrawal of the last right-leaning Eurosceptic standing, Andrea Leadsom, to raise an unmistakably positive reaction in the City.

There’s real anticipation in the City tonight about whether the Bank of England will cut interest rates to fresh record lows on Thursday.

The BoE has already hinted that more stimulus will be needed this summer to help the economy. But given the inflationary impact of a weak pound, it may be reluctant to lower borrowing costs (and weaken sterling further).

Kallum Pickering says the Bank could decide to leave its powder dry until August, when governor Mark Carney will present the new quarterly inflation report.

He writes:

We see a 60% chance that the nine member MPC votes to cut the bank rate, if so, probably by 25 basis points.

However, there is a chance that the MPC holds for now, and instead opts to send a dovish signal that the bank will ease monetary policy three weeks later at the August Inflation Report when it is due to publish its revised economic forecasts.

The pound is getting a late lift tonight, as Theresa May prepares to become Britain’s next prime minister, on Wednesday afternoon.

Sterling is hovering just below $1.30, up half a cent today.

Chris Saint, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Currency Service, says:

Markets will be hopeful that the prospect of Theresa May becoming Prime Minister will soon bring some clarity to the UK political landscape as well as a more conciliatory approach towards Europe.

May has already insisted, though, that “Brexit means Brexit”, so she’s not hinting at a referendum u-turn...

Some late newsflashes from Brussels, where eurozone finance ministers have been meeting.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the Eurogroup, says the Brexit vote is hurting eurozone confidence:

And European commissioner Pierre Moscovici has revealed that the EC is dialling down its growth forecasts for the UK and the eurozone next year:

The global rally in shares today has sent America’s S&P 500 index to a record high today:

Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at Forex.com, believes the S&P 500 will keep climbing:

So, the S&P 500 is rallying to fresh unchartered territories today. Where do we go from here? Well, the monthly chart suggests onwards and upwards.

America’s tech index has hit its highest level of the year:

The FTSE 250 used to be the ugly duckling of the City, full of companies not big enough to make the Footsie 100.

Now, though, it’s blossomed into everyone’s favourite stock market index (or so it feels, anyway).

Shares in many smaller UK companies are also strongly higher today.

Michael Hewson of CMC Markets explains why:

The FTSE250 has also enjoyed a decent bounce, up nearly 3% hitting its highest levels since its plunge from its 23rd June peaks. This removal of one element from the mix of political uncertainty is likely to bring into sharp relief the next stage of the “Brexit” process and in particular the timings of when Article 50 is likely to get triggered.

However, the FTSE 250 index is still below its pre-referendum levels, unlike the FTSE 100 (which gets that weak pound boost)

Here’s another sign that the Brexit vote has hurt the European economy.

A new survey by Moody’s Analytics reports that:

Global business confidence has slumped in the wake of the Brexit vote in late June. European sentiment continues to sink and is now consistent with an economy that is on the verge of stalling out.

More than one-fourth of the survey responses by European businesses are negative, the highest that has been on a consistent basis since the European debt crisis. Encouragingly, sentiment in the United States and Pacific Rim haven’t been materially impacted by British exit vote.

Weak business confidence often leads to lower investment, and less new hiring, so it could be quite damaging....

City traders are pleased that at least some of the political uncertainty sitting over Britain like a heavy fog is lifting.

Connor Campbell of Spreadex explains:

Theresa May is clearly the market’s preferred choice for Britain’s top job, as evidenced by the reaction that greeted Leadsom’s stand-down statement. May’s lack of interest in rushing to activate Article 50 and her relatively less contentious relationship with the EU when compared to her (now long gone) rivals, as well as the general cheer at the mere fact of the UK once again having a PM, is arguably responsible for the rise from the FTSE and pound, both of which improved on their morning performances.

The former jumped by nearly 1%, sitting firmly at 2016 (and indeed 11 month) highs; the latter, meanwhile, managed to climb away from its earlier lows, even if the currency remains haunted by the spectre of a Bank of England rate cut on Thursday.

The chancellor is watching events unfold from across the Atlantic, and tweets:

The FT reckons that foreign secretary Phillip Hammond could become finance minister in Theresa May’s government....

London shares have extended their gains this afternoon, as Wall Street opened strongly on the back of Friday’s forecast-busting non-farm payrolls.

The S&P 500 set a record high, while the Dow was up 92 points, or 0.5 percent, to 18,240 within the first half hour of trading, with banks leading the charge.

“Reaching a new high may see money moving from the sidelines of safety trades, like Treasury bonds and gold, back into the equity markets,” Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth, told Reuters.

“The emphasis of the markets will be how fast and how long the S&P remains above the record today.”

By 3pm, the FTSE 100 had extended its gains to just over 70 points, or 1.1%, at 6664 points.

Chancellor George Osborne has now landed New York, for his mission to reassure America that Britain is still open for business despite the Brexit vote (as we covered earlier).

He’ll be on US TV shortly, in an early-morning treat for America.....

Enjoy the pound’s rally while it lasts, says Jake Trask, currency analyst at UKForex.

He predicts that sterling will soon weaken again, possibly later this week when the Bank of England announces its interest rate decision

“Sterling pushed higher today as pro-Brexit candidate Angela Leadsom pulled out of the contest to be the next prime minister. The pound pushed up through $1.30 against the US dollar on the news, but the rally is likely to be short-lived, as Mark Carney is expected to cut interest rates to a record low of 0.25% this Thursday.

“Should he decide to cut rates to zero, we will likely see another multi-year low for sterling as we head towards a probable recession in the second half of the year.”

This graph shows how shares in big companies on the FTSE 100 (red line) have roared back since the referendum, thanks to the slump in the pound.

Smaller UK companies are shown on the blue line (the FTSE 250), and Germany’s DAX is the pink line.

In exquisite timing, confidence among small investors has hit its lowest level since the heights of the eurozone crisis in 2012 - just as shares keep rallying.

Hargreaves Lansdown, the financial services firms, reports that its Investor Confidence Index has suffered its sharpest monthly fall in 5 years.

The survey of retail investors took place on 30 June, a week after the EU referendum result, and asked them to give their view of the UK stock market over the next three years.

The index fell from 92 points in May to 67 in June; the biggest one month percentage fall since June 2011. The index now stands at a four year low - in May 2012 it stood at a level of 61, as Greece looked like it might be on the brink of leaving the eurozone.

Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says confidence appears to have “collapsed” after the Brexit vote, among investors, consumers and businesses.

The dwindling faith in the UK’s future financial prospects has the potential to become a self-fulfilling prophecy, if companies and individuals start to assume a bunker mentality, and delay or cancel spending and investment.

Investors are naturally twitchy about what Brexit means for the future of the stock market in the coming months and years. However continued low interest rates will remain supportive of shares, not least because there is really nowhere else for investors to go for income. Commercial property is one other option, though we have seen problems that can arise for investors in that market over the last week or so.

The pound just put its nose back over the $1.30 mark, on the prospect of Theresa May becoming Britain’s next PM sooner than expected.

The pound is suddenly jumping, clawing back most of today’s losses, as rumours sweep Westminster that Andrea Leadsom is about to quit the Tory leadership race.

Caution is needed, as it’s only at a three-hour high....

Maybe traders aren’t sure what happens next. And they’re not alone...

Our politics liveblog have full coverage of Theresa May’s speech:

Theresa May, one of the two candidates to replace Cameron, is preaching a progressive message this morning.

May is arguing that ordinary families need more help. Wages have only grown slowly, energy bills have rocketed, and monetary stimulus measures have helped those on the property ladder - but not those who can’t [who wrote this speech, Ed Miliband?].

May is also promising a crackdown on executive pay, giving workers more power, and improving UK productivity.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady says it’s better late than never....

“The TUC has long argued for workers to be given seats on company boards and remuneration committees. Workers have a clear interest in the long-term success of their companies and deserve a bigger say.

“This move would inject a much-needed dose of reality into boardrooms, as well as putting the brakes on the multi-million pay and bonus packages which have done so much to damage the reputation of corporate Britain.

“If politicians are serious about making chief executives more accountable this is a common sense approach. I stand ready to meet Theresa May to discuss these proposals.”

David Cameron also told the Farnborough Airshow that it is in Britain’s “fundamental interest” to remain very close to the EU.

The AFP newswire have a good take on George Osborne’s trip to America:

British finance minister George Osborne was Monday holding talks with Wall Street investors, kicking-off a series of visits to leading international financial centres to build post-Brexit economic ties.

“Vital work will begin today on building stronger economic and trade relationships with the UK’s closest trading partners,” the Treasury said in a statement as Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne headed to New York to meet investors on Wall Street.

And Osborne will next week lead a trade mission to Singapore and China after Britain last month voted in a referendum to exit the European Union, the Treasury added.

“While Britain’s decision to leave the EU clearly presents economic challenges, we now have to do everything we can to make the UK the most attractive place in the world to do business,” Osborne, who voted for Britain to remain in the EU, said in the statement.

“We will continue to be a beacon for free trade, democracy and security, more open to that world than ever.”

They also point out that the UK is considering easing the tax bill on companies:

Following the Brexit vote, Osborne is planning to slash corporation tax over fears of an exodus by big business.

According to the Treasury, he could extend planned cuts to Britain’s levy on company profits to under 15 percent. Prior to the vote, the tax rate on corporate profits was already set to be cut from 20 percent to 19 next year and to 17 percent in 2020.

Britain’s business minister Sajid Javid on Friday held post-Brexit talks on the country’s future trade relationship with India, the first of many such discussions he plans with world powers.

Britain is left with the huge task of forging fresh trade agreements with individual countries as a non-bloc member.

Javid has said that the British government, which will soon be led by a new prime minister after the post-Brexit vote resignation of David Cameron, plans to have up to 300 specialist staff by the end of the year to aid in the new trade negotiations.

The jump in the FTSE 100 doesn’t tell us much about the UK economy, except that it may trigger bonus payments to chief executives....

Japanese bank Nomura are predicting that sterling could hit a new 31-year low by Friday:

The pound may be losing its shock value...

Neil Wilson, markets analyst at ETX Capital, confirms that the prospect of fresh stimulus from the Bank of England is driving shares up (and the pound down)

The prospect of looser monetary will help equities but it’s another nail in sterling’s coffin.

Homebuilders, which rallied on Friday after a turbulent week, are on the up again today. Miners are also rising again as investors price in an interest rate cut. Encouragingly for UK firms, the FTSE 250 is trading up 1%, beating the FTSE 100’s 0.5% rise.

European markets are up across the board as they react to Friday’s upbeat jobs report from the US, which spurred the Dow to a 1% gain and saw the S&P 500 close within one point of its record high.

Asian stock markets have now closed at one-month highs. Traders are betting that Japanese PM Shinzo Abe can now implement new structural reforms to make the economy more productive, having won a key election victory over the weekend.

There were astonishing scenes on the Tokyo stock market today, as shares in console maker Nintendo surged by 25% following the runaway success of the new Pokémon Go game.

It’s particularly notable, as Nintento is only indirectly linked to the game (which has sent users racing around, squinting into their phones, looking for the monsters)

City investors are expecting the Bank of England to cut interest rates to fresh record lows on Thursday, to fight the dangers of recession following the Brexit vote.

Tony Cross of Trustnet Direct says this is helping to drive shares up in London today:

London’s FTSE-100 is starting the week with some solid gains as Friday’s upbeat unemployment data from the US and hopes of further stimulus measures out of Japan continue to buoy sentiment.

There’s also the spectre of a rate cut and further QE being unveiled at the Bank of England later in the week which is again delivering some cause for cheer and gains are eye-catchingly broad-based as a result.

George Osborne may get a rough ride as he tries to woo America’s top politicians and financiers this week:

Bloomberg’s reckons he faces a ‘tall order’ to persuade the US that all is well in the UK:

He’ll be mounting a public relations exercise at a time when the pound has slumped to a 31-year low against the U.S. dollar and real-estate funds are beingfrozen to avoid fire sales.

Further undermining sentiment in the country is the two-month wait to discover the identity of the next prime minister, and discord gripping the opposition Labour Party.

There’s also no guarantee that Osborne will have high office once his close ally, David Cameron, has been replaced by either Theresa May or Andrea Leadsom.