Sterling hit by May’s Brexit deal demise

Sterling tumbled after Theresa May said there was not sufficient support for another vote on her proposed Brexit deal, making the prospect of a no-deal scenario appear more likely.

The Prime Minister told the Commons that a third meaningful vote would not go ahead on Tuesday, though she still hoped to put the decision to Parliament later this week.

The pound was 0.31 per cent lower versus the dollar at $1.317 and 0.3 per cent down on the euro at €1.164.

The FTSE 100 was also in the red, shedding 30.01 points to close at 7,177.58.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “The dreadful manufacturing figures from France and Germany, from Friday, are still playing on traders’ minds. The poor economic reports from the two largest economies in the eurozone acted as a wake-up call to investors, that a no-deal Brexit is likely to be painful for the continent as well as the UK.”

In London, Wood has sold its Terra Nova Technologies unit to Cementation Americas for $38 million (£29m) in cash as part of a non-core asset disposal programme being undertaken by the FTSE 250-listed energy services company. Wood shares closed 41.6p lower at 504p.

The Debenhams debacle also rumbled on, with Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct hitting out at the retailer for rejecting his latest attempt to wrest control of the business.

The billionaire said in a stock market update that a £100m offer to buy the department store’s Danish arm is one of several made by Sports Direct to put the chain on a more secure footing. Debenhams’ shares fell 0.04p to 1.55p.