MARKET REPORT

THE pound plummeted yesterday as a series of ministerial resignations dealt a blow to Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

The currency was still sliding as the market closed.

Sterling was 1.8% lower against the US dollar at 1.276. It also fell 1.8% to 1.127 euro.

The FTSE 100 was almost flat, gaining 4.22 points, or 0.06%, to close at 7,038.01 as multinational companies listed on the index benefited from the pound’s decline, but housebuilders and banks were in the red. European markets were also weighed down by uncertainty, with the French Cac falling 0.7% and the German Dax down 0.5%.

Oil prices surged following a major slump earlier in the week. A barrel of Brent crude was 2% higher at 67.08 US dollars.

In company news, new boss pledged action to boost the group’s performance including a review of its under-pressure UK postal network as it revealed a sharp fall in profits.

The firm reported a 27% plunge in pre-tax profits to £183 million for the six months to September 23.

Shares in fell by 74.5p, or 7.16%, to 966p after the housebuilder cautioned that uncertainty surrounding the UK’s departure from the European Union has put off discretionary homebuyers.

closed 2.2p lower even as it returned to sales growth ahead of the peak festive season, overcoming “challenging” high street trading.

The greetings card and gifts chain, which has 963 stores across the UK, said like-for-like store sales edged 0.1% higher in its third quarter to October 31, while it saw a 47.3% surge in website sales.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were up 27.2p to 547p, up 290p to 6,300p, up 29p to 664p, and up 34.2p to 796p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were down 23.9p to 224.2p, down 70.2p to 789.8p,

down 12.15p to 149.95p, and down 40.4p to 505.4p.