RBS’S gains help Footsie finish higher

Shares in RBS rose by more than 3 per cent after it announced its first dividend in 10 years as it starts to put some of its legacy issues to rest.

The bank’s shares closed up 7.7p or 3.08 per cent at 257.8p despite bottom-line profits dropping after it was hit by a major settlement with US authorities.

The rise helped the FTSE 100 post a 83.17 point gain to close at 7,659.10.

Connor Campbell of Spreadex said it marked the “umpteenth” return to the 7,650 level for the index this summer. “It helps that the pound is in such a miserable state, sterling spending the day sporadically ducking under $1.30 against the dollar following July’s disappointing services PMI and Mark Carney’s threat that chances of a no-deal Brexit are ‘uncomfortably high’,” he said.

Pets at Home shares rose 11.4 per cent to 126p as it benefited from a lift in sales after it brought down prices to compete with online rivals.

The pet store’s retail head Peter Pritchard was appointed as chief executive in May, and he has been pushing ahead with plans to offer bettervalue products and more services for pet owners. British Airways owner International Airlines group

(I ag) warned that strike sin france

are posing a challenge to its operations. The airline group, which owns Aer Lingus, Vueling and Iberia, said strikes were causing disruption for customers and hurting the Spanish economy. Shares closed down 2.2 per cent at 668.8p Shares in defence group Cobham rose by 3.95p to close at 128.5p after pre-tax profits jumped despite a fall in sales.