Footsie surges as May speech hits sterling

Market report Perry Gourley

Sterling took another Brexit battering as currency traders took a dim view of Theresa May’s impromptu speech playing up the prospects of Britain crashing out of the EU without a deal.

May called on the EU to come forward with fresh proposals on Northern Ireland and trade, warning that without a move from Brussels it will not be possible to make further progress in Brexit talks.

Currency traders saw it as heightening the possibility of a disorderly no deal.

“While the market continues to react to the media headlines, positive and negative, the fact is that both sides appear no closer together,” said John Goldie, foreign exchange dealer at Argentex.

The major beneficiary of the pound’s slide was the FTSE 100, which closed the day up a massive 122.91 points, or 1.67 per cent, at 7,490.23. But shares in Moss Bros were hit as the menswear retailer warned over profits after hot summer weather and the World Cup “distraction” pushed the firm to a half-year loss.

Earnings show the retailer swung to a pretax loss of £1.7 million for the six months to 28 July, having posted a profit of £3.9m in the same period last year. Shares closed down 6.5p, or 14 per cent, at 40p.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Kingfisher up 13.6p at 256.3p, Glencore up 15.1p at 336.8p, Antofagasta up 37.8p at 895.8p and Tui up 54.5p at 1,424p.

The biggest fallers were Just Eat down 34p at 674p, Smiths down 70.5p at 1,520.5p, Barratt Developments down 17p at 560p and Persimmon down 68p at 2,366p.