Pound’s fall helps boost stock market

Market report Perry Gourley

London’s blue chip index recovered some of the losses it suffered last week, supported in part by a weaker pound that fell further after a speech from Bank of England boss Mark Carney.

The FTSE 100 ended the day up 0.5 per cenyt or 37.81 points at 7,253.28.

Sterling was last week trading at its highest level since the Brexit vote result amid signs that the Bank of England could raise interest rates within the coming months.

That excitement was starting to wane in early trading, but the pound took a further hit after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney used a speech in Washington to warn of the effects that Brexit could have on inflation.

David Madden, a market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said given Carney’s speech “volatility is likely to be high”.

BAE Systems was one of the biggest risers on the FTSE 100, climbing 23.5p to 619.5p, amid news that Qatar’s defence minister is planning to buy 24 Typhoon jets from the British defence group.

Away from the top tier, Esure shares surged 15.9p to 278.5p following reports that the firm’s biggest stakeholder, Sir Peter Wood, has been in talks with would-be buyers in a move that could trigger a full-blown sale of the business. Wood owns a 30.7 per cent position in the company.

Dairy Crest rose 14.5p to 624p as the cheese and butter maker said it was on track for double-digit volume growth for the six months ending in September.

Shares in insurer Hiscox fell 9p to 1,242p after it warned of the impact of Hurricane Harvey. The UK environmental fund management firm has agreed to buy US business Pax World Management in a transaction worth up to $90m. Shares in the radiology firm fell despite it saying it was on track to meet market expectations for its full year as it declared a maiden dividend.