Footsie creeps higher after a slip in sterling

London’s top flight was boosted by a dip in the value of the pound, as sterling’s rally on foreign exchange markets fizzled out.

The FTSE 100 ended the day 11.53 points higher at 7,357.31. Investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in the US this week.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “Stock markets in Europe haven’t moved much today as some investors are sitting on their hands in advance of the much-awaited Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday.”

The pound fell 0.26 per cent to $1.256 versus the dollar and decreased 0.46 per cent to €1.118 against the euro.

In stocks, Kier Group lost 22.8p to 108p after it announced plans to cut 1,200 jobs under a strategy to simplify the business and save on costs.

The construction firm said it had completed a strategic review under new chief executive Andrew Davies which identified ways to generate cash and reduce its debts.

Babcock’s share price rose 6.8p to 471.4p after it said it had been approached by outsourcing rival Serco earlier this year with a proposal for a mega-merger, which it rejected.

The aerospace firm said it had received an “unsolicited and highly preliminary proposal” from Serco on 23 January, but turned it down as it “had no strategic merit”.

Hargreaves Lansdown shares regained some value after the company’s boss, Chris Hill, said he will not take a bonus this year due to the ongoing saga at Neil Woodford’s investment vehicle. Shares in the investment platform closed up 28.5p at 1,898.5p.