LONDON, MILLAT+(APP/AFP) – London’s FTSE 100 hit a fresh record high
at the open on Monday as the pound slumped to 32-month lows against the dollar over Brexit.
The benchmark index gained 0.2 percent to a new peak of 7,352.71
points after reports said British Prime Minister Theresa May was ready to take the country out of the European Union in a so-called “hard Brexit”.
A number of Sunday newspapers in the UK said May was willing to pull
out of the single market, the European customs union and the European Court of Justice, in order to regain control of immigration.
The news sent sterling plunging to $1.1986, its lowest level since
October’s “flash crash” that had sent it to a 31-year low of $1.1841.
The pound has fallen sharply since Britain voted in June to exit the
European Union, pushing up share prices of multi-nationals on the FTSE index of 100 firms including the likes of energy giants Shell and BP.
In the eurozone Monday, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index dropped 0.8 percent
to 11,537.45 points at the open and the Paris CAC 40 shed 0.8 percent to 4,883.43 compared with Friday’s close.
Most Asian stock markets retreated also Monday as investors nervously
await Donald Trump’s inauguration speech Friday, having been left disappointed at his lack of detail on economic policy at a news conference last week.