Join +750K new investors every month who copy stock picks from billionaire's portfoliosSign Up Free

FTSE 100 gains on sterling slide; Brexit deadlock unbroken

Published 28/03/2019, 09:56
© Reuters. A worker shelters from the rain as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London
UK100
-
BATS
-
PRU
-
IMB
-
JMAT
-
SDR
-
FRAS
-
FTMC
-

(Reuters) - Britain's top share index bounced on Thursday, helped by exporters, after the pound fell following more bad Brexit news for Prime Minister Theresa May, while miners and tobacco firms also gained.

The FTSE 100, which earns more than two-thirds of its earnings in U.S. dollars, jumped 0.7 percent - its biggest one-day rise in a week - and the FTSE 250 added 0.4 percent by 0900 GMT.

Sterling came under renewed pressure after May failed to sway hardline opponents of her European Union divorce deal with an offer to quit, while none of eight indicative options to break the Brexit deadlock won majority support in parliament.

"We are now at the stage that MPs have shown that they don’t want to vote to leave, but also don’t want to vote to stay. It's turning into more a case of Little Britain than Great Britain," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.

But the UK main index outperformed its European counterpart as gains were across the board with all but one sector in the positive territory.

International companies, which typically gain from weakness in the local currency, were the biggest boosts with pharmaceutical giants AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline both up over 1 percent.

Tobacco giant Imperial Brands (LON:IMB) advanced 2.5 percent and British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) climbed 2 percent, with a trader citing rating upgrades by brokerage Citi on both stocks.

Chemicals group Johnson Matthey (LON:JMAT) added 2 percent after securing a site in Poland to produce ultra-high energy battery materials and a 10-year supply deal with Canada's Nemaska Lithium.

Asia-exposed luxury brand Burberry edged 2 percent higher and miners saw their fourth straight session of gains after a report that U.S.-China trade talks have made progress in all areas under discussion.

But weighing on the index were asset manager Schroders (LON:SDR) and Prudential (LON:PRU), which dipped on ex-dividend trading.

The small-cap index also underperformed with some steep news-related moves.

Outsourcer Mitie slumped 8 percent after a warning that the company's order book was set to weaken as clients steered away from entering longer term contracts.

The dip placed Mitie on course for its worst day since last September.

Britain's largest listed funeral services provider Dignity dipped 3.1 percent after the country's competition watchdog launched an investigation into the sector.

© Reuters. A worker shelters from the rain as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London

Debenhams tanked 18 percent to 2.3 pence after the retailer said its bondholders agreed to change the terms of some of their bonds, a move that could rebuff a bid from Mike Ashley's Sports Direct (LON:SPD) and wipe out shareholders.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.