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The UK benchmark index has inched higher this morning, outperforming the rest of Europe, with ‘hard Brexit’ concerns pushing the pound lower. In individual movers, Babcock (LON:BAB) has lost ground after Deutsche Bank trimmed its recommendation on the company.
As of 12:05 GMT, the FTSE 100 had gained 7.49 points to stand 0.10 percent higher at 7,217.54. The Footsie has been outperforming other European indices after Prime Minister Theresa May hinted at no membership of the EU’s single market, with the comments sending sterling lower.
“The main driver of the index’s growth seemed to be the latest plunge from the pound, which dropped by 0.8 percent against both the dollar and the euro following Theresa May’s Sky News interview at the weekend,” Connor Campbell at Spreadex explained in a morning note, adding that “the Prime Minister’s comments were read as falling decidedly on the ‘hard’ end of the Brexit spectrum, with ‘control of [the UK’s] borders’ likely to be prioritised over continued access to the single market“.
In individual stock news, Babcock’s share price has fallen 2.02 percent to 920.50p after Deutsche Bank trimmed its stance on the company from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’ and slashed its valuation from 1,100p to 1,020p.
“The stock is not expensive, leaving room for some price recovery on e.g. contract news, but in our view investors will need to see repeated strong reporting for a material and sustainable re-rating,” the analysts explained, as quoted by Sharecast, adding that they also remained cautious on UK outsourcing as a whole.
At the other end of the spectrum has been Glencore (LON:GLEN), whose shares have been in demand as Barclays reiterated its ‘overweight’ stance on the blue-chip miner. Glencore’s share price is currently 2.44 percent better off at 295.50p.
The FTSE 100 was 0.08 percent up at 7,215.52 points as of 12:13 GMT on Monday, 09 January 2017.
