Carillion woes take their toll on the Footsie

Market report Perry Gourley

Concerns over the impact of Carillion’s collapse weighed on the FTSE 100 despite the pound hitting a new post-brexit vote high versus the US dollar.

The FTSE 100 edged into the red, down by 9.5 points at 7,769.14 points alongside its European peers. Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “The US dollar index has continued its slide, hitting three-year lows against a basket of currencies, as speculation about tighter monetary policy elsewhere in the world weighs on the greenback.”

Brent crude prices were also charging ahead, up more than 0.3 per cent to rise above $70 per barrel and trade at its highest levels since late November 2014.

Investors were taking an optimistic view of production cuts by Opec members and other oil majors including Russia, which are expected to help tackle the global energy glut.

In UK stocks, GKN topped the FTSE 100, with shares rising 17.4p to 437.4p, as turnaround specialist Melrose began holding meetings with GKN shareholders in hopes of securing a £7 billion takeover of the engineering firm that was turned down by board members last week.

Rolls-royce Holdings shares dropped 5.2p to 855.6p as the company confirmed it was launching a strategic review of L’orange, a German arm of the group that makes fuel injectors for diesel engines. William Hill edged lower by 0.3p to 335p, despite reporting that it is on course to beat full-year expectations.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 included WPP, up 37.5p at 1,392p, and ITV, up 3.95p at 171.95p. Shares in the fertiliser producer were in demand after announcing it is planning a major expansion at its production facility in South America. The renewable fuels company said it intends to raise approximately £18.4 million through a placing of shares at 10p each.