MARKET REPORT
LONDON’S top-flight index came close to breaking above the 7,000 mark as stocks rallied after Prime Minister Theresa May vowed to kick-start the Brexit process by next March.
The FTSE-100 Index touched 6,996.43, before paring gains to rise 84.19 points to 6,983.52, as investors were handed greater clarity over when Britain will exit the EU.
However, the pound was waning on the currency markets, dropping to a three-year low against the euro, amid concerns that Mrs May will opt for a “hard Brexit” by leaving the single market in order to control immigration.
The announcement that Britain would trigger Article 50 by the end of March 2017 also caused sterling to hover near a fresh 31-year low against the US dollar.
However, the pound momentarily pared losses after the latest PMI survey showed that output in Britain’s manufacturing sector reached its highest level for more than two years in September.
The closely-watched Markit/ CIPS UK Manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) said output hit 55.4 last month, up from 53.4 in August, and above economist expectations of 52.1.
Sterling was down 0.9% against the dollar at 1.2833 US dollars towards the end of the session, and off 0.8% against the euro at 1.144 euros.
Across Europe, Germany’s Dax was closed for German Unity Day, while the Cac 40 in France was up 0.1%.
In UK stocks, oil majors were on the up as the price of Brent crude climbed above the 50 US dollars a barrel mark, after the Opec cartel said it had reached a deal last week.
Royal Dutch Shell B rose 47p to 2,044p after the oil price lifted 0.4% to 50.41 US dollars a barrel. Rival BP was also up 8.4p to 458.4p.
Elsewhere, Henderson Group surged more than 16% after it announced a merger with US firm Janus Capital, creating an investment titan with more than 320 billion US dollars (£247 billion) in assets under management.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 index were Intercontinental Hotels Group up 99p to 3,279p, Travis Perkins up 48p to 1,592p, Anglo American up 27.8p to 995.4p, London Stock Exchange up 80p to 2,880p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 index were ITV down 3.4p to 183.8p, Marks and Spencer Group down 5.1p to 326p, BT Group down 3.9p to 385.1p, Legal and General down 2.1p to 216.6p.