MARKET REPORT

THE FTSE 100 lagged behind its European counterparts which were buoyed by a drop in the euro amid news that the European Central Bank (ECB) will start cutting its bond buy programme in January.

London’s blue chip index ended the day up 0.5% or 39.29 points to 7,486.5 points, while the likes of the French CAC 40 and German Dax jumped 1.5% and 1.4%, respectively.

Its continental peers were boosted by euro currency moves, as investors reacted to the ECB’s intentions to taper its monthly bond buying programme from 60 billion euros (£53 billion) to 30 billion euros (£26 billion), starting in January.

But ECB president Mario Draghi also played down the eurozone’s inflation trajectory, signalling that a rate hike might be further off than previously expected.

Sterling was up 0.35% versus the euro at 1.126, while the pound’s slid 0.6% against US dollar to 1.318.

In oil markets, Brent crude prices rose 0.5% to 58.62, having rebounded from a 1% fall a day earlier sparked by data that showed a further build up in US oil inventories.

In UK stocks, Barclays fell 14.6p to 182.4p despite reporting a rise in pretax profit from £837 million to £1.1 billion in the third quarter.

Barclays was the worst performer on the FTSE 100.

Merlin shares edged higher by 1.2p to 369.3p amid news that it would invest £265million to open a Legoland theme park in New York as it presses ahead with global expansion plans.

The owner of Madame Tussauds and Alton Towers said that the new Legoland will open in 2020 and be located in Goshen, Orange County, some 60 miles north-west of the Big Apple.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 yesterday were Unilever up 136.5p to 4,225p, Relx up 49p to 1,733p, British American Tobacco up 122.5p to 4,966p, and Bunzl up 47p to 2,288p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Barclays down 14.6p to 182.4p, Barratt Developments down 29.5p to 669p, GlaxoSmithKline down 49p to 1,380p, and Shire down 74p to 3,523p.