MARKET REPORT

EXCITEMENT over progress in Brexit talks was short-lived, with the pound giving back gains after a meeting in Brussels broke up without delivering a deal.

The FTSE 100 ended the day up 0.53% or 38.48 points at 7338.97.

In UK stocks, Sky jumped 26p to 956p amid reports that Disney has been eyeing a raft of 21st Century Fox assets including its 39% stake in Sky.

SSE was nearly flat, down 1p at 1,337p as the chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee called on the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate the merger between SSE and the owner of Npower, amid fears that the deal will spell bad news for energy consumers.

Shares in McColl’s Retail Group tumbled 15p to 275p, despite recording annual revenue of over £1bn for the first time, thanks in part to its acquisition of 298 Co-Op stores. However, like-for-like fourth quarter sales fell 1.1%, with McColl’s saying that “declining traditional categories and unfavourable weather” had negatively impacted the business.

Pendragon rose 0.75p to 26p on news that the car firm was set to shut dealerships in Britain and offload its US division following a strategic review of the business.

The company said it will instead focus on the used car market, where it trades as Evans Halshaw.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Carnival up 167p at 4,931p, Sky up 26p at 956p, Ashtead Group up 50p to 1,954p, and Barclays up 4.85p at 194.25p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Fresnillo down 35p at 1,273p, Randgold Resources down 85p to 6,800p, Mondi down 21p to 1,719p, and NMC Health down 30p to 2,818p.