Friday, October 11: Improved prospects for a Brexit deal saw sterling rally intraday, initially to the detriment of the exporter-led FTSE 100(+0.84%) which gapped lower on sterling strength but flipped back into the green on the back of constructive US-China trade talks. The wave of Brexit related optimism provoked a rare rally in the FTSE 250(+4.19%) across multiple sectors, a bellwether for companies with sizeable UK earnings. Global markets were either up at the close(across Europe) or substantially in the green intraday(in North America) on a confluence of positive political developments whilst gold fell over $20 intraday to $1481/oz as investors went “risk on”.

Dart Group(+14.18%) was one of many stocks posting large gains as the airline & package holiday operator announced a surge of late season bookings which prompted an uplift in guidance. In the wake of the collapse of Thomas Cook Group in September, Dart saw demand for both flights and package holidays continuing to strengthen. On a longer term view, the Group reiterated a cautious outlook given industry cost pressures exacerbated by weaker sterling, plus enduring Brexit uncertainty and the resulting impact on consumer confidence.

European equities were higher at the close, with the FTSE 100 +0.84%, the CAC 40 +1.73% and the DAX 30 +2.86%.