Pound slumps amid growing no-deal threat

The FTSE 100 was lifted by a mass sell-off in the pound, as traders appeared to find a no-deal Brexit increasingly possible.

The British currency was down 0.77 per cent at $1.242 versus the dollar at the UK market close, recovering slightly from a 0.94 per cent deficit earlier in the afternoon, and closed 0.38 per cent lower against the euro at €1.107.

This in turn boosted London’s blue-chip index, which gained 45.48 points to reach 7,577.2.

Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index, said: “The main source of the pound’s pain this morning is from Brexit and the returning fear of a no deal.

“The pound slumped to 2019 lows in reaction to both remaining candidates in the Conservative leadership race, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt opposing the Irish backstop.”

In stocks, Ryanair moved higher after the airline said it is planning cuts and closures at some of its bases from this winter due to delays to aircraft deliveries amid the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft crisis. Shares in the budget carrier rose 3.1 per cent to €10.40.

The owner of Franco Manca pizza, The Fulham Shore , no tched a r eturn to profit on the back of strong demand for food launches including a new vegan menu. Shares rose 12.2 per cent to close at 12.9p.

Meanwhile, a host of major banks and venture capital firms have signed up for the UK government’s latest initiative to boost funding for female entrepreneurs. Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group were among the i n s t i t u t i o n s p u t t i n g t h e i r names to the Investing in Women Code.