Markets fidget as draft Brexit verdict looms

Hannah Burley

Markets were at the mercy of Brexit jitters as traders awaited the result of Theresa May’s attempts to get a draft deal past her Cabinet.

The pound had a volatile day, suffering from an early sell-off when inflation slightly undershot expectations to hold steady at 2.4 per cent.

But as the markets closed, sterling was ticking higher in anticipation of a statement by the Prime Minister.

The pound was 0.19 per cent higher against the euro at €1.151 and climbed 0.4 per cent to $1.303.

Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index, said: “The market is growing in confidence that Theresa May can do and has done what is necessary to draw her Cabinet behind her.

“However, there is still more work to be done when the Brexit deal faces a vote in Parliament. Only if it clears Parliament can we expect to see the pound push back towards $1.40 dollars.”

Top-flight stocks also had an erratic day, which saw the FTSE 100 finishing 19.97 points lower at 7,033.79.

Smiths Group rose 69p to 1,384p after it revealed plans to spin off its medical devices unit to focus on growing as an industrial technology company. The engineering conglomerate said the separation will allow the medical unit to capitalise on its large programme of new product launches and exploit growth opportunities.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 included Micro Focus, up 82.5p to 1,389.5p, and Paddy Power, up 400p to 7,070p. The biggest fallers included Rio Tinto, down 136p to 3,710p, and Evraz, down 17.8p to 519.8p.