Footsie gains on back of Carney views

The FTSE 100 was lifted as sterling slid following comments from Bank of England governor Mark Carney.

The prospect of a rate hike next month waned after Carney said several Brexit-related events would impact rate rises, and there would only be gradual increases.

By the market close, London’s blue chip index had risen 39.35 points to 7,368.17.

In UK stocks, Shire’s shares dipped despite Japan’s Takeda upping its bid for the pharmaceutical giant. Takeda said its new proposal is worth £47 per share, £21 of which is cash and £26 in new Takeda shares. It values Shire at £42.8 billion, a slight advance on its last offer.

Shire’s shares were down 153.5p to close the day at 3,821.5p.

Shares in consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser also slipped when its sales missed analysts’ expectations.

Sales were up 2 per cent on a like-for-like basis at the company, which owns a suite of household brands including Dettol, Clearasil and Gaviscon. Analysts had been expecting a rise of 2.6 per cent.

The company was hit by “significant underperformance” from Scholl. The footcare brand brought down sales in Reckitt Benckiser’s health division, more than offsetting gains from Durex and VMS sales. By the market close, Reckitt Benckiser’s share price was down 161p to 5,625p.

Value womenswear retailer Bonmarche suffered a drop in sales in the first quarter of the year, which analysts pinned on the Beast from the East. Shares closed the day down 0.5p at 90p.