FTSE falls as sterling holds on to its gains

The FTSE 100 ended in negative territory yesterday, dented by a resurgent pound and dragged down by the likes of Vodafone and Smurfit Kappa.

London’s top flight closed the day down 47.18 points, or 0.62%, at 7,516.03.

Leading the fallers was Vodafone, with the telecommunications giant subject to a selloff after Merrill Lynch downgraded its stock to neutral from buy.

It came after Vodafone agreed a mammoth 15 billion Australian dollar (£8.4 billion) deal to merge its Australian operations with TPG Telecom. Shares ended down 5.42p at 167.52p.

The FTSE 100 was also hit by the pound’s mini renaissance.

Sterling held gains made on Wednesday after comments from Michel Barnier suggested the EU is ready to offer the UK a bespoke Brexit deal.

The bloc’s chief negotiator said the EU is “prepared to offer a partnership with Britain such as has never been with any other third country”.

The pound was hovering around $1.30 for most of the day before dipping 0.2% to end the session at $1.299p.

Versus the single currency, it rose 0.3% at 1.115 euros.

In Europe, France’s CAC was down 0.42% and Germany’s DAX closed down 0.54%.

Brent Crude was trading up 0.26% at $77.4 per barrel.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Ocado up 18p at 1,080.5p, United Utilities up 9.4p at 738.8p, GVC up 10p at 1,110p and Whitbread up 31p at 4,020p.

The biggest fallers included Fresnillo down 28.4p at 906.2p, Royal Mail down 13.1p at 451.2p and Smurfit Kappa down 68p at 3,168p.