Pound under Budget pressure

“The bullish mood has spread across Europe”

The FTSE 100 began the week on the front foot yesterday, but the pound came under late selling pressure as the Chancellor delivered his Budget.

London’s top flight rose 86.76 points, or 1.25%, to close at 7,026.32.

CMC market analyst David Madden said: “Equity markets bounced back today as traders swooped in to snap up relatively cheap stocks.

“The bullish mood has spread across Europe, but seeing as the geopolitical and economic risks still persist, the upward move might not last long.”

The FTSE 100 was buoyed by HSBC, which was riding high on a solid set of third-quarter results.

The banking giant booked a 28% increase in profit before tax to $5.9 billion (£4.5 billion) in the three months to September 30, reflecting strong revenue growth and lower operating expenses.

The results, which beat expectations, also showed that on an adjusted basis, pre-tax profit jumped 16% to $6.2 bn (£4.8bn).

Shares closed up 28.8p at 633.8p.

Sterling, meanwhile, was in the red, despite Chancellor Philip Hammond saying that the Office for Budget Responsibility has raised its growth forecast for the British economy and lowered the forecast for the deficit.

The pound was down 0.2% versus the US dollar at 1.280 and down 0.01% against the euro at 1.124.

In Europe, Germany’s DAX was up 1.2% while France’s CAC was 0.44% higher.

A barrel of Brent Crude was trading at 77.4 US dollars, down 0.24%.