£460bn Brexit boost for FTSE

NEARLY £4 0billion has been added to the value of Britain’s leading companies since the stock market lows following the Brexit vote a year ago.

The FTSE 100 index of blue chip giants has jumped 24 per cent, while the FTSE 250 benchmark of more domestically focused firms has gained 31.5 per cent.

The rally has added £459billion to the value of UK stocks – boosting the pension pots of millions of workers and investments such as ISAs. Following an initial sell-off in the two days after the referendum, the surge has made a mockery of warnings that the stock market would be hammered by Brexit.

The rally has partly been driven by the fall in sterling, making foreign earnings worth more when they are converted into pounds. Sterling is down 14.5 per cent against the dollar and 13 per cent against the euro since the Brexit vote, which has also boosted exports.

Laith Khalaf, of savings and investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said: ‘Overall the UK stock market has performed very strongly since the referendum.’