Footsie falls as Brexit talks end in failure

The FTSE 100 ended the week on a drab note, sinking into the red after it was officially confirmed that talks have been abandoned between the UK government and the Labour Party over a Brexit proposal.

London’s leading index closed down 4.89 points at 7,348.62 points.

The index threatened to remain flat during the morning session as it benefited from the weak pound, but slumped on the back of continued Brexit uncertainty. Markets across Europe also failed to excite as positivity regarding a softer US trade stance evaporated.

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “It’s been a disappointing end to what has been a turbulent week for European stocks with three days of gains bookended by what looks like will be two days of losses, with investors reluctant to run too much risk heading into the weekend, given how last weekend turned out, as markets fell sharply on the Monday.”

Shares in easyjet jumped after the budget airline said it is on course to deliver annual profits in line with expectations, despite the impact of higher fuel prices and the Gatwick drone incident in the first half of the year.

Shares in the company closed up 52p at 1,025p. Metro Bank shares surged after the high street bank secured £ 375 million from investors who backed the firm after a major loans blunder. The challenger bank raised more than initially targeted in an equity raise which followed an accounting error in January which left the bank short of the capital it needed to grow. Its shares were up 140.5p at 677p.