POUND LIVE: Sterling rises against Dollar as FTSE loses end of year gains
THE POUND has risen sharply against the Dollar as blue-chip index loses end-of-year gains during first hours of trading.
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2.00pm - Pound continues rise against the Dollar
Sterling is up to 1.3564 against the Dollar, a rise of 0.41 per cent so far today.
The pound is not quite doing so well against the similarly rising Euro but remains flat at a drop of just 0.03 per cent.
The Euro is in fact on the up across the board, posting a high of 135.64 against the yen – levels not seen since late 2015.
Against the dollar, the Euro has had its best year since 2003 last year as European economies strengthened and amid growing expectations that the European Central Bank would wind down its monetary stimulus programme.
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12.04pm - As the Sterling and Euro rise, stock markets fall
The Pound Sterling is trading at 1.3553 against the Dollar, its highest price for over three months, marking a 0.33 per cent rise on the day.
Despite President Trump’s recent tax reform success investors are not confident in the dollar. The Euro is up 0.4 per cent against the US currency.
FTSE is having a bad day on the back of the Pound's rise.
The FTSE 100 stands at 7,651.54 down 36.23. The FTSE 250 has dropped 57.58 to 20,668.68 and finally the FTSE 350 is down to 4,258.28 after a fall of 18.75.
Investment company Standard Life Aberdeen plc is the biggest loser so far today.
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10.12am - Pound down on Euro but up on Dollar
Sterling is down 0.18 per cent against the Euro but up a very decent 0.29 per cent against the Dollar.
Despite the repeated warning on the UK's productivity, factory growth has been described as 'solid' for the end of 2017 period.
The first data release of 2018 shows that the UK PMI from Markit/CIPS fell to 56.3 in December from 58.2 in November, well above the 50 mark which separates expansion from contraction.
Output, new orders and employment all rose at solid rates.
08.54am - FTSE falls from record high
Shares in the UK's top firms have slipped during the first hour of trading on the London Stock Exchange today.
Last week, the benchmark FTSE 100 share index had ended 2017 at a record high of 7,687.77.
But as trading began on Tuesday, the index dropped 24.82 points to 7,662.95.
Centrica up 1.71 at 139.65 as the winner of the first hour with Rio Tinto, an Australian-British multinational and one of the world's largest metals and mining corporations, falling 0.93 per cent to 3866 after some big recent rises in 2017.
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07.23am - Pound steady at start of 2018
Pound Sterling is up 0.02 per cent against the Euro to 1.1249, and 0.15 per cent against the Dollar to 1.3529.
With the Pound on a similar trajectory as it held at the end of 2017, thoughts in the new year have inevitably thoughts at the start of 2018 have turned to trade with David Maddox reporting this morning that pressure is mounting on Theresa May to deliver a proper Brexit with two leading groups in the Tory Party having issued 10 red lines warning against more concessions to Brussels.
The Bow Group, chaired by former cabinet minister Lord Tebbit, and the eurosceptic Bruges Group have laid out a series of demands to the Prime Minister including a pledge that Article 50 will not be reversed, the UK will not sign up to any part of an EU army in talks over security and tough new immigration rules are put in place.
Meanwhile, it is understood that Boris Johnson has told friends that he is concerned that other members of the cabinet are trying to stop a clean Brexit in what appears to be more pressure on Mrs May as 2018 begins with make or break Brexit talks set to be concluded this year.
According to reports one ally of the Foreign Secretary said: “In Cabinet, it is always Boris who has to make the case for a clean break and why Britain needs to exploit the opportunities which Brexit provides.
“The other Leave supporters tend to hide behind his skirts and don’t say very much. He feels like he is being left out on a limb when they should be supporting him.”
