London’s FTSE 100 Index Loses Early Gains Despite GBP Plunge

FTSE 100 price, news and analysis:

• The FTSE 100 index of leading London-listed stocks is falling Thursday despite a plunge in GBP on the resignation of two members of UK PM May’s cabinet.
• The drop suggests the usual inverse correlation between GBP and the index may be breaking down.

FTSE 100 index drops on Brexit turmoil

The FTSE 100 index of leading London-listed stocks is losing earlier gains Thursday despite a sharp drop in GBP on the resignation of two of UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s cabinet – the Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and the Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey. Other more junior ministers have resigned too.

The move is unusual as there is generally an inverse correlation between GBP and stocks, and suggests that shares as well as the currency are reacting negatively to Brexit setbacks. Other UK assets are also reacting strongly, with the yield on 10-year UK government bonds recording their biggest one-day drop since August 2016, sterling risk reversals at their lowest in 17 months and one-month sterling implied volatility at its highest in more than two years.

FTSE 100 Price Chart, Five-Minute Timeframe (November 14-15, 2018)

Chart by IG

By 1030 GMT, the FTSE 100 was almost unchanged at 7,036.25

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--- Written by Martin Essex, Analyst and Editor

Feel free to contact me via the comments section below, via email at martin.essex@ig.com or on Twitter @MartinSEssex