Footsie ends stormy week in the red

The FTSE 100 posted a modest fall as the dust settled on a tumultuous week in British politics.

The pound stabilised a day after its worst oneday drop since June 2016, climbing against the US dollar but dropping against the euro.

Meanwhile the FTSE 100 shed 24.13 points to finish at 7,013.88. The FTSE 250, which comprises more Uk-focused companies, dropped another 73 points to 18,589.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “Stock markets are in the red as investors are still worried about the political sentiment in the UK and Italy. Massive political uncertainty still hangs over Theresa May. Political commentators are questioning her ability to sell the withdrawal agreement to her own party, and a failure to do so could lead to a no deal scenario - which has spooked investors.”

RBS was trailing the blue-chip stocks in London after it was dropped from a list of the world’s most important banks, signifying the lender will no longer be required to hold extra capital in case it fails.

The bank’s shares were 7.3p or 3.3 per cent lower at 216.9p.

Imperial Brands shares were 35p higher at

2,638.5p after it said further research is needed around US plans for an outright ban on menthol cigarettes. Tobacco stocks were routed earlier in the week amid reports of the plans by the US Food & drug Administration (FDA) for a ban.

Kier Group’s share price rose 31p to 856p as it said it would book £10m of costs in its half-year related to the group’s turnaround programme, but assured this is set to reverse over the full year.