FTSE 100 ends in red as Royal Mail spirals down
as they rode the wave of rising oil prices. Despite nudging down on Tuesday, the price of a barrel of Brent crude has risen from US $77 to $84 over the past 30 days. Shares in Shell and BP closed up 7p at 2,655.5p and 1.7p at 597p respectively.
Sterling, meanwhile, remained hostage to Brexit ruminations as the Tory Party conference rumbles on.
The pound was down 0.4% versus the US dollar at 1.298 and down 0.3% against the euro at 1.123. It was also dragged down by lacklustre construction figures, which showed the sector suffered its weakest growth for six months in September
The closely-watched Markit/CIPS UK Construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed a weaker than expected reading of 52.1 in September, down from 52.9 in August.
However, with Theresa May due to deliver a speech today, focus will again shift to politics.
“For sterling, the problem is, to the surprise of no-one, Brexit” said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at SpreadEx.
“Uncertainty surrounding Britain’s EU divorce led the construction sector to grow at its slowest pace for six months, contributing to the currency’s decline in the process, while the pound is also jittery ahead of Theresa May’s Tory Party conference speech on Wednesday morning.
“What tone the Prime Minister strikes in regards to Brexit could well dictate sterling’s performance across the rest of the week, hence the pregame nerves on Tuesday.”
In Europe, Germany’s DAX was down 0.42% and France’s CAC fell 0.71%.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were United Utilities up 14.8p at 719.6p, Randgold Resources up 100p at 5,518p, Evraz up 9.8p at 578p and BHP Billiton up 28p at 1,698.4p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Royal Mail down 32.8p at 358.6p, Ferguson down 446p at 6,083p, Pearson down 34.4p at 854p and Johnson Matthey down 120p at 3,476p.