FTSE drops as lack of clarity hits pound

Market report Emma Newlands

The pound lost ground after key officials from the Bank of England failed to give any clues on whether they would join growing calls for an interest rate hike at the next monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting.

Sterling was trading around 0.2 per cent higher versus the US dollar in the early afternoon, but dropped to minus 0.3 per cent to around $1.283 after the speeches were released.

The currency also lost ground against the euro and was down 0.7 per cent at €1.122 by the stock market close, while the FTSE 100 ended the day down 40.27 points at 7,329.76.

Education group Pearson was the worst bluechip performer, dropping 5.5p to 655p, after selling off a 22 per cent stake in its publishing unit Penguin Random House to Germany’s Bertelsmann.

Marks & Spencers was also among the biggest losers on London’s blue-chip index, falling 15.9p to 323.1p, after reporting a 1.2 per cent drop in like-for-like sales in its clothing and home division over the 13 weeks to 1 July, while food sales dropped 0.1 per cent.

Gocompare jumped 7.75p to 111.5p after revealing it is on track for a 22 per cent leap in half-year earnings, while Young&co’s Brewery A shares ended the day higher by 7.5p at 1,310p as the recent heatwave helped raise like-for-like sales by 8.6 per cent across its managed pubs.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 included Glencore, up 6.45p at 307.5p and Worldpay Group ,up3pat376p.

The biggest fallers included Associated British Foods, down 121p to 2,845p, and Prudential, down 48.5p at 1,750p. The firm is eyeing a healthy boost to profits despite its construction arm taking a near£100 million hit following a review of infrastructure projects. News that the group was selling a 22 per cent stake in its publishing unit Penguin Random House did not go down well with investors.