FTSE boosted by pound’s dip over Brexit

Market report Emma Newlands

Sterling slumped as traders took a dim view of comments from Downing Street saying Britain was seeking a more ambitious European trade agreement than the Eu-canada deal.

The pound was down 0.2 per cent versus the US dollar at $1.33 and 0.5 per cent lower against the euro at €1.129, as the UK currency also suffered in the wake of negative comments about the City of London from the European Commission’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier.

He reportedly told a raft of European newspapers that there would be no special arrangement to allow City firms to trade freely in the EU if Britain leaves the single market, stating: “There is not a single trade agreement that is open to financial services. It doesn’t exist.”

In contrast, the FTSE 100 Index closed up 7.08 points to 7,544.09, with pharmaceuticals giant Shire leading the charge on the top tier, climbing 143p to 3,920p.

In UK stocks, Old Mutual was enjoying a strong session as it struck a deal to sell its single strategy asset management arm to private equity outfit TA Associates for £600 million.

The unit has funds under management of £35.7 billion and booked pre-tax profit of £60m last year. Old Mutual will receive £570m in cash up front and a further £30m from 2019 to 2021, with the business transferred to TA Associates in January. Shares were up 5.7p to 218.8p.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index included Easyjet, up 39p to 1,416p, and Carnival, up 137p to 4,982p. The biggest fallers included Mediclinic International ,down29p to 579p, and Associated British Foods, down 48p to 2,814p. The biopharma company jumped after revealing that its affiliate Entrega has inked a near-£4m million research collaboration with Eli Lilly & Co. The Aim-quoted fast fashion retailer tanked after warning sales would fail to hit annual targets, after a significant drop in marketing expenditure.