Brexit-related rally by pound to FSTE'S cost

The pound rallied following the agreement on a draft political declaration about the UK’S future relationship with the European Union.

European Council president Donald Tusk said the draft has “been agreed at negotiators’ level and agreed in principle at political level, subject to the endorsement” of leaders of the EU.

This paves the way for a special Brexit summit to go ahead in Brussels on Sunday, when leaders of the 27 remaining EU states are expected to approve the declaration and the 585-page withdrawal agreement setting out the terms of the UK’S departure from the bloc.

The pound was up 0.72 per cent to $1.286, having hit $1.292 earlier in the session. Sterling was also up against the euro, rising 0.56 per cent to €1.128. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 was hit by the strong pound as many of the companies on the blue-chip index make the bulk of their money overseas. The index closed down by 89.91 points, or 1.27 per cent, at 6,960.32.

In corporate news, Scottish Gas owner Centrica closed down 9.2 per cent to 132.3p after it warned over a hit of around £70 million from the incoming energy price cap as it revealed it has lost another 370,000 customers.

And Mitie shares fell 3.60p to 153.3p after the company cautioned over “competitive and challenging” industry conditions as it posted lower half-year earnings and revealed a £255m fall in its order book.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 included Just Eat, up 22.20p to 596.8p, and Burberry, up 64.50p to 1,819p. The biggest fallers included Fresnillo, down 110.20p to 802.4p, and Smurfit Kappa, down 138p to 2,152p.