Footsie nears record levels after rate hike

Market report Emma Newlands

The pound plunged, sending the FTSE 100 near record highs, as i nvestors expressed disap - pointment in the messaging around the Bank of England’s first interest rate hike in a decade.

Sterling tanked 1.4 per cent against the US dollar to trade at $ 1.305, marking its lowest level since early October, and tumbled 1.7 per cent versus the euro to trade at € 1.119.

Its losses pushed the FTSE 100 higher, and the blue- chip index ended the day up 67.36 points to 7,555.32, coming in just shy of an all- time closing high of 7,556.24 reached last month.

Investors were reacting to relatively dovish tones from the Bank of England despite having raised interest rates for the first time since 2007, from a record low of 0.25 per cent to 0.5 per cent.

Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at Spreadex, said: “In a comment that far overshadowed the rate hike itself, the bank claimed that any future increases would be at a ‘ gradual pace and to a limited extent’.”

Supermarket chain Morrisons saw shares fall 1.1p to 222.9p despite a 2.5 per cent rise in like- for- like sales in the 13 weeks to 29 October.

Insurer RSA saw shares drop 10p to 623p after announcing that it was set to take a £ 50 million hit following major hurricanes in the US and Caribbean, and warned it may have to make further provisions as it awaits new client claims.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 include d Medi c l i ni c I nt e r na t i o na l , u p 2 3 . 5 p t o 600.5p and Standard Chartered, up 20.8p to 725.8p. The biggest fallers included Randgold Resources, down 540p at 6,930p, Convatec Group, down 5.6p at 186.2p, and Rentokil Initial down 7.5p at 327p. The oil giant’s shares jumped following a 47 per cent rise in adjusted earnings in the third quarter, boosted by the likes of higher oil prices. The telecoms firm was among the worst performers after revealing a 4 per cent slump in quarterly earnings, amid woes in its global services arm.