Pound traders focus on Tory leadership race

London’s top shares only just avoided slipping into the red yesterday as geopolitical tensions continued to weigh on the markets.

The FTSE 100 gained 5.74 points, or 0.08%, to close at 7,422.43. The German Dax closing 0.38% lower and the French Cac down 0.13%.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “Geopolitical tensions weighed on the markets on Tuesday after the US imposed new sanctions on Iran. Stocks across the UK, Europe and Asia took a dive, with investors switching their attention once again to gold as a safe-haven asset.”

Oil prices ticked up, as markets anticipated that US crude stocks would be lower.

A barrel of Brent crude oil was trading at 65.32 US dollars, up 0.9%.

Meanwhile, the pound inched lower, dropping 0.04% against the euro to 1.117 and 0.15% versus the US dollar to 1.272.

Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index, said: “Pound traders are staying focused on the Conservative leadership race. Boris Johnson firmly reiterated his plan to remove the UK from the EU, deal or no deal. The only reason the pound didn’t fall further was thanks to the rising opposition that Boris is encountering.”

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were 3i Group up 35.5p to 1,098.5p, Smurfit Kappa up 74p to 2,400p, DS Smith up 10.4p to 356.2p, and Antofagasta up 18.2p to 912.2p.

The biggest fallers were International Consolidated Arlines Group down 12.5p to 439.5p, NMC Health down 54p to 2,364p, Easyjet down 18.2p to 860.6p and Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust down 9.5p to 524p.