MARKET REPORT

STERLING took another Brexit battering yesterday after Theresa May’s speech playing up the prospects of Britain crashing out of the EU without a deal.

The pound gave up four days of gains on the US dollar to shed 1.5% and hit 1.307 at the London market close.

It came after Mrs May called on the EU to produce fresh proposals on Northern Ireland and trade, warning that without a move from Brussels it will not be possible to make further progress in Brexit talks.

Speaking a day after the humiliating rejection of her Brexit plans at the EU summit in Salzburg, the Prime Minister recognised that negotiations had reached an “impasse”.

But she dismissed EU suggestions that the onus is on Britain to shift its stance, insisting that the ball is now in the EU’s court.

Currency traders saw it as heightening the possibility of a disorderly no deal.

As the clock ticks and the Government fails to strike a deal that it only last year described as the “easiest in history”, the pound is likely to come under intense selling pressure.

The major beneficiary of the pound’s slide was the FTSE 100, which closed the day up a massive 122.91 points, or 1.67%, at 7,490.23.

However, one stock that failed to get a boost was

which ended the day rooted to the bottom of the index. It came after reports surfaced that ride-sharing giant Uber, which has its own food delivery service, Uber Eats, could snap up Deliveroo in a bid to dominate the European market. Analysts believe a combination of the companies could create “a killer brand”, eating into the market share of Just Eat. Shares in the FTSE 100 company dropped as much as 9% in early trading before closing down 34p, or 4.8%, at 674p.

was hit as the menswear retailer warned over profits after hot summer weather and the World Cup “distraction” pushed the firm to a half-year loss. Earnings show the retailer swung to a pre-tax loss of £1.7m for the six months to July 28, having posted a profit of £3.9m in the same period last year. Shares closed down 6.5, or 14%, at 40p.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were up 13.6p at 256.3p, up 15.1p at 336.8p, up 37.8p at 895.8p and 54.5p at 1,424p.

The biggest fallers were

down 34p at 674p, down 70.5p at 1,520.5p,

down 17p at 560p and down 68p at 2,366p. up