1

FTSE 100 slips amid strength in sterling after strong UK retail sales

|
City Spy

Our unmissable weekly email of all the gossip, rumours and covert goings-on inside the Square Mile

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

The FTSE 100 lost ground on Friday, after a bump in the price of sterling hit many companies in the index whose earnings are predominantly overseas.

The blue-chip index fell 36 points to end the day on 8,311, a 0.4% fall.

Positive data on retail sales in the UK caused the pound to rise on Friday. Sterling was 0.4% up at 1.291 US dollars, and 0.17% against the euro at 1.174 as markets closed.

British retailers saw sales tick slightly higher last month after a boost from the Euro 2024 football tournament and summer discounting, the Office for National Statistics said.

High street retailers said sales of football shirts, electronics such as TVs, and alcoholic drinks were all stronger amid England’s journey to the Euros final.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said strength in sterling “hits the relative value of its constituents’ dominant overseas earnings”.

“There was also some weakness in the property sector, with investors potentially guessing the more positive UK economic picture will reduce the impetus for further interest rate cuts from the Bank of England.”

France’s Cac 40 rose 0.35%, while Germany’s Dax index rose 0.77%.

Stateside, the S&P 500 was up 0.16% as markets were closing in London, while the Dow Jones was also up 0.18%.

In company news, Revolut said it has clinched a valuation of 45 billion dollars (£34.9 billion) via a share sale by its employees, confirming its position as the most valuable start-up in Europe.

The fintech giant announced the sale amid reports that it is being courted by the UK Government in a bid to persuade it to list on the London Stock Exchange, rather than in the US.

Read More

Export bar placed on rare Alan Turing wartime papers as UK buyer sought

Export bar placed on rare Alan Turing wartime papers as UK buyer sought

Two men jailed for goading police at London protest

Two men jailed for goading police at London protest

London dim sum restaurant stripped of licence after Home Office raids

London dim sum restaurant stripped of licence after Home Office raids

Sponsored
The schoolfriends taking their sound from the streets to the big stage

The schoolfriends taking their sound from the streets to the big stage

The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil was down 1.36% to 78.52 US dollars as markets were closing in London.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Entain, up 17p to 638.2p, Burberry, up 15.2p to 686.6p, Auto Trader, up 12.8p to 825.8p, Rentokil, up 7.2p to 486.5p, and Melrose Industries, up 5.9p to 504.4p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Rightmove, down 15p to 532.00p, Berkeley, down 140p to 5,175p, Fresnillo, down 11p to 532p, Ashtead, down 98p to 5,210p, and Vistry, down 23p to 1,344p.