MARKET REPORT

THE FTSE 100 enjoyed another day in positive territory yesterday as it took its cue from across the pond, where US markets hit record highs.

London’s top flight closed up 36.2 points, or 0.5%, at 7,367.32.

It came as the Dow Jones and S&P 500 set fresh record highs, helping spearhead a global rally in stocks as US-China trade war fears receded.

In currencies, sterling rallied to hit a 10-week high following better than expected retail sales figures.

Retail sales were up 0.3% in August on the month before, according to the Office for National Statistics. Sales of household goods jumped by 4.5% while other nonfood stores enjoyed a 2.8% rise, although food sales fell by 0.6% and clothing fell by 1.9%. The last three months of summer from June to August saw sales rise by 3.4% compared with the previous summer, with food and household goods stores doing well in the warm weather.

The data helped the pound rise nearly 0.8% versus the US dollar to 1.324, although some of the shine was taken off by further Brexit setbacks for Theresa May. Versus the euro, sterling was up 0.1% to 1.126.

In stocks, closed the day up despite warning over “volatility” in some of its markets, with profits expected to take a £45m hit due to currency fluctuations. Shares closed up 41p at 2,654p.

Shares in fashion retailer

dropped after revealing widening half-year losses and an £800,000 hit from the House of Fraser collapse. The group reported pre-tax losses of £15.1m for the six months to July 31 against losses of £5.9m a year earlier, following writedowns including the House of Fraser impact and store leases. The firm’s stock closed down 3.1p at 47p.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were up 60p at 2,285p, up 22p at 847.6p, up 94.5p at 3,817p and up 21p at 858p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were down 103p at 2,008p, down 27.5p at 971p, down 4.3p at 242.7p and down 5.6p at 470.4p.