Footsie gains as pound takes a fall

Market report Perry Gourley

The pound slid as investors fretted over the prospects of a swift Brexit trade deal after EU leaders suggested the second phase of negotiations would be “tougher” than the first.

Markets were spooked after European Commission president Jean-claude Juncker and German chancellor Angela Merkel said it was not likely to be an easy ride.

Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at Spreadex, said: “The formal shift from phase one to phase two of negotiations between the UK and EU only intensified the pound’s Brexit migraine.”

The FTSE 100 ended the day up 42.45 points, at 7,490.57.

Unilever rose 1.35 per cent, or 56p, to 4,196p

after the consumer goods giant confirmed it had struck a £6 billion deal to sell its underperforming spreads business to private equity

firm KKR.

Persimmon fell 26p to 2,626p after announcing that chairman Nicholas Wrigley intends to resign following concerns over excessive executive pay at the firm.

Sky rose 28p at 1,018p and BT shares ended the day up 3.7p at 277.55p after the rival broadcasters announced a deal to sell their channels on each others’ platforms.

Trinity Mirror jumped 1.25p to 73p as the publisher of the Daily Record said it was making “good progress” in its efforts to acquire the Express titles from Northern & Shell. Shares in Bargain Booze owner Conviviality rose 8.5p to 386.5p amid news it was buying more than 100 convenience stores from collapsed wholesaler Palmer & Harvey.