Pound storms upward and drags on FTSE

A roaring pound helped to weigh down London’s top-flight as global markets suffered after a bullish end to last week.

The FTSE 100 closed the day down 19.82 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 7,448.8, with the pound regaining some of its losses following a two-month low against the dollar last Friday.

It rose 0.18 per cent to $1.2915 against the greenback and gained 0.49 per cent on the euro to €1.1836.

Currency traders will now have their eyes on official fourth quarter statistics, due out on Tuesday morning, according to Connor Campbell of Spreadex.

Campbell said: “The pound may find its rebound tested. The first glimpse at the UK’S Q4 growth is expected to come in at zero per cent against Q3’s 0.4 per cent – however there is some reason to believe the economy actually contracted by 0.1 per cent in Q4.”

In company news, NMC Health led the list of London’s risers, nursed back to health by the news that possible takeover might be in the offing. Shares zoomed up the FTSE 100, adding 226.2p to 926.20, a stunning 32.3 per cent rise.

It came as the hospital group’s chief executive was forced to stand down from the board and launch a legal review into exactly how much of the company he owns.

Meanwhile, podcast business Audioboom, backed by property tycoon Nick Candy, has put itself up for sale, the company confirmed.

The group, which produces podcasts for 90 million listeners a month, added that financial advisers have been hired to seek out potential buyers. Shares pushed up 20p to 242.5p.