MARKET REPORT

LONDON’S top-flight index rebounded yesterday as a stronger US dollar took the edge off sterling’s rally and encouraged investors to snap up multinational stocks.

The FTSE 100 Index closed up 49.70 points at 7,665.54, with the American dollar finding some support after US President Donald Trump indicated his preference for a strong US currency.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also pulled back on comments suggesting he was in favour of a weaker US dollar.

A fall in the pound and a stronger US dollar can spur investors towards buying multinational stocks on the London market because their overseas earnings benefit from a more favourable currency translation. Despite finding some respite, pressure remained on the greenback, with the pound’s rally easing to a rise of 0.3% at 1.417. Sterling was 0.1% higher versus the euro at 1.141.

In UK stocks, investors cheered GlaxoSmithKline after the drugs giant was handed a “positive opinion” from European regulators over its shingles and postherpetic neuralgia drug Shingrix. Shares climbed more than 1%, or 20p, to 1,355p.

HICL Infrastructure Company took a tumble after it flagged a string of loan agreement defaults linked to Carillion’s collapse. The group was down 4% in afternoon trading on the London Stock Exchange, as it moved to appease lenders by parachuting in new operators for 10 contracts where Carillion was the facilities manager.

Shares dropped 6.4p to 141.1p, as HICL said the process would take several months to complete, but lenders were being “supportive of the actions under way”.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were Next up 154p to 5,218p, Ashtead Group up 52p to 2,124p, Bunzl up 50p to 2,059p, BAE Systems up 13.6p to 579.4p.

The biggest fallers were Mediclinic International down 18.2p to 611p, Reckitt Benckiser down 101p to 6,727p, Randgold Resources down 68p to 7,130p, Antofagasta down 7p to 941p.