Pound’s Brexit woes provide joy for FTSE

Market report Emma Newlands

London’s premier index delivered its longestever record closing streak thanks to more lacklustre trading from the Brexit-hit pound.

The FTSE 100 Index closed at an all-time high for the ninth consecutive session, jumping 37.70 points to 7,275.47 as “hard Brexit” fears continued to loom over sterling.

Beating its previous run of eight consecutive record closes in May 1997, the top flight also pushed to a new mid-session record of 7,284.81, continuing its remarkable start to 2017.

Britain’s sickly currency was the fuel behind the index’s heady rise after sterling dropped to a 13-week low against the US dollar at $1.212, on the back of comments made by German chancellor Angela Merkel, who stepped up pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May over Brexit, saying the EU must consider limiting UK access to the European single market if the country fails to accept free movement of EU citizens.

Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Landsdown, said the FTSE 100 had risen for an 11th session on the bounce, matching its longest winning streak, adding: “The stock market moves down as well as up, but you wouldn’t have guessed that if you’d been keeping your eye on the FTSE for the last few weeks.”

In UK stocks, Morrisons climbed 3.6 per cent after the chain upped its full-year profit outlook following better-than-expected festive sales.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index included Rio Tinto, up 160.5p to 3,293.5p, and Whitbread, up 186p to 4,051p. The biggest fallers included Direct Line Insurance ,down11p to 357p, and Admiral Group, down 48p to 1,780p. The firm jumped on its bestever Christmas trading, with one analyst saying this shows its work to focus more on consumers is bearing fruit. The takeaway business fell despite a 42 per cent jump in fullyear orders, but an analyst noted fears its “waistline isn’t expanding fast enough”,