Footsie drops as investors flock to euro

Market report Emma Newlands

The pound fell to a one-week low against the euro after minutes from the European Central Bank’s (ECB) June meeting showed some members had reconsidered its government bondbuying programme.

Sterling fell as low as €1.133 versus the euro, marking its lowest level since 28 June, before recovering slightly to trade 0.3 per cent lower at €1.136.

Investors were flocking to the EU currency after ECB minutes revealed that members of the interest-rate-setting governing council had discussed withdrawing its bond-buying pledge.

Sterling, meanwhile, managed to rise 0.2 per cent versus the US dollar to trade at $1.296, while the FTSE 100 ended the day in the red, dropping 30.32 points to 7,337.28.

Shares in Bovis Homes Group dropped by 3.5p to 966p after the company revealed it would set aside another £3.5 million to deal with customer complaints over the poor quality of its homes. The housebuilder has already set aside £7m to cover remedial work and compensation for affected customers.

Justeat shares ended the day down 6.5p to 666p. The online delivery firm announced that former Moneysupermarket.com boss Peter Plumb would take the helm as chief executive in September.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 included Barclays, up 4.95p to 209.15p, Barratt Developments, up 10p to 592p, and Royal Bank of Scotland Group, up 4.2p to 259.9p. The biggest fallers included Next, down 120p to 3,785p, Glencore, down 7.75p to 299.65p, and Fresnillo, down 36p to 1,436p. The Primark owner held the topspotonthe FTSE 100 on the back of upping its full-year outlook on strong sales, partly due to the Brexit-hit pound. The household goods giant suffered after warning of a permanent hit to sales as last month’s global cyber attack hit its factories.