Pound’s fall helps Footsie to make gains

Market report Perry Gourley

The FTSE 100 outperformed its European peers thanks to rising airline and housebuilder stocks and a notable drop in the pound.

London’s blue chip index jumped 0.9 per cent or 66.08 points to end the day at 7,438.84, outperforming the French Cac 40 and German Dax.

It was supported by rising airline stocks including Easyjet – which topped the index after rising 63p to 1,280p – as the collapse of Monarch Airlines was seen as a boon for the failed carrier’s rivals. IAG shares also jumped 14p to 607.5p.

Homebuilders – including Barratt Developments, which rose 26p to 640.5p, and Persimmon, which climbed 108p to 2,690p – were close behind as investors celebrated government plans to expand its Help to Buy scheme by £10 billion. But one of the biggest lifts for the index came from the pound, which fell 0.4 per cent versus the euro.

Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at Spreadex, said: “The pound’s October has started in the worst way possible, with the currency posting its largest decline against the dollar since the day after June’s general election.”

Hiscox shares rose 17p to 1,297p after it laid bare the impact of hurricanes Harvey and Irma, revealing the natural disasters will cost the firm approximately $225 million (£168m) in claims.

Stanley Gibbons shares tumbled 1.5p to 7.88p after the stamp and coin specialist reported trading losses of £8.8m in the year to March, and confirmed that it was in default on its loans and is now “dependent on the bank’s ongoing support”. The budget airline was seen as being in line to benefit from acquiring, customers, landing slots and pilots from collapsed rival Monarch. Analysts at Berenberg downgraded the Scottish temporary power supplier to a sell rating from hold over earnings expectations.