Holiday in US helps to keep FTSE 100 calm

The US markets are usually a major influence on how the London Stock Exchange closes out a day of trading but there was no guidance to be had yesterday, as US exchanges were closed for the Martin Luther King Jr Day holiday.

Instead, traders took their feet off the gas and watched as the FTSE 100 ticked down, closing out the day off by 23.12 points at 7651.44. On European markets, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 0.4%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was up 0.2%.

There was little in the way of economic news either, although there was a slight wobble as the International Monetary Fund told the World Economic Forum in Davos its analysts now expect the global economy to grow by 3.3% this year – a downward revision from 3.4% predicted three months ago.

Currency traders also appeared to shrug at an interview given by Chancellor Sajid Javid over the weekend in which he said the UK would not be aligning with EU rules after the transition period ends.

The pound was flat against the dollar as markets closed, with a pound worth $1.299. Against the euro it ticked up less than 0.1% to be worth 1.173 euros.

In company news, there were boosts to housebuilders as a Rightmove report suggested house prices rose in December.

Barratt Developments, Berkeley Group and Persimmon were all big risers, up 17p at 816.4p, 102p at 5,142p and 57p at 2,948p respectively.

Another big risers on the FTSE 100 was BAE Systems up 23p at 647.6p. Among biggest fallers were NMC Health, down 57.5p at 1,500p, and Burberry down 52p at 2,277p.