EVENTS and comments from the US, Europe and Chile helped the FTSE 100 rise to a new eight-week high on Tuesday.

The blue chip index in London closed up 85.73 points - or 1.17% - to 7,443.04.

Starting in the US, investors were pleased to see a tweet from President Donald Trump, who said he "had a very good telephone conversation" with China over the ongoing trade war.

He also confirmed he would meet Chinese premier Xi Jinping later this month at the next G20 summit.

In Europe, Mario Draghi, head of the European Central Bank, hinted that low interest rates would continue and there would be a boost to the ECB's asset purchase programme.

This sent markets across the world up, with the German Dax closing up 2% and the French Cac up 2.2%.

Connor Campbell at Spreadex explained: "[Draghi's] comments... immediately turned a potentially fretful session into one full of triple-digit growth. It also infuriated Donald Trump thanks to its euro-weakening impact, the president whining that it makes it 'easier for them [the Eurozone nations] to compete against the USA'."

Finally, in Chile, a strike by copper miners helped send the price of the material, which is used throughout the construction industry, soaring.

This helped shares in the FTSE 100's biggest miners rise as the prospect of making more money from the higher prices got investors excited.

Anglo American closed up 2.7% at 2,165p. BHP Group closed up 2.5% at 1,965.2p. Antofagasta was up 4.7% at 900.8p. And Rio Tinto rose 2.2% to 4,877.5p.

In currencies, the pound continued its miserable run against the dollar, up just 0.09% at $1.2545. Against the euro, the pound was up 0.28%, worth €1.1203.

Oil prices continued their recent fluctuations, with a barrel of Brent crude costing $62.06 - up 1.8%.

In company news, equipment rental firm Ashtead Group reported another quarter of solid growth, putting its annual profits and revenue well ahead of last year.

Revenues rose 17% in the three months to April 30, to £1.1 billion. Pre-tax profits were also higher, climbing 10% to £208.6 million.

The shares were the biggest risers in the FTSE 100, closing the day up 6.1% at 2,081p.

Supermarket Tesco was showing off its new technology and explaining to analysts how it plans to make more money in the future - including using delivery robots in a store.

Analysts appeared impressed, with shares up 3.74% at 235.5p. The media will get the chance to learn more about the plans on Wednesday.

Utility Warehouse owner Telecom Plus attracted higher numbers of customers last year, as the company said it was poised to take advantage of the "challenging" energy marketplace.

The firm, which supplies mobile and landline services as well as gas and electricity, saw revenue rise 1.5% to £804.4m in the year to March 31.

Adjusted profit before tax was up 3.7% to £56.3m, sending shares up 1.4% to 1,482p.

Videogame developer Team17 Group saw shares jump 11.34% to 275p after upping its earnings and revenues outlook for the full year thanks to strong sales of new and old titles, including Worms.

The biggest faller on the FTSE 100 was cigarette maker Imperial Group, down 2.5% to 1,903p as investors continued to react to suggestions from the US Food and Drug Administration that the levels of nicotine in products could be reduced.

It was closely followed by Premier Inn owner, Whitbread, which closed out at 4,599p - a 1.5% drop - as investors prepare themselves for the company's update to the stock market on Wednesday morning.