FTSE 100 rises after Yougov poll sends sterling tumbling
The FTSE 100 has risen this morning after the pound suffered a shock as Yougov’s final poll of the General Election campaign showed the Conservatives on course for a smaller majority.
Yougov’s MRP model poll, released yesterday, suggests the Tories could win a 28-seat majority in tomorrow’s election – a significant drop on previous estimates.
Read more: Poll predicts Tory majority of 28, halved from a fortnight ago
Two weeks ago, the pollsters’ previous MRP model had forecast a Tory majority of 68 – over double the current figure – and news of the latest poll sent sterling tumbling on Wednesday.
The pound shed 0.7 per cent against the dollar, dragging cable to a six-day low of $1.311, and lost 0.6 per cent against the euro, leaving it under €1.1836.
Sterling’s losses heartened the FTSE 100, which rose as much as 0.4 per cent in morning trading.
The index was sitting just under 0.3 per cent up by 9am, boosted by materials firms and oil companies including Fresnillo and Anglo American.
Spreadex’s Connor Campell said that despite sterling’s losses following the poll, the pound is “still clearly banking on a blue dawn come Friday morning”, although a smaller majority “could potentially make it difficult for Boris Johnson to easily get his own way Brexit-wise.
Read more: General Election: Who are City workers voting for?
“The outcome remains still close to call with the prospect of another hung parliament still a real possibility, as we look towards the opening of the polls tomorrow,” said CMC Markets’ Michael Hewson.
“With the weather forecast looking absolutely lousy for tomorrow, with widespread torrential rain, turnout could also be a factor in how the result turns out.”