U.K.’s Brexit-Sensitive Stocks Bounce on Juncker’s Optimism

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks most sensitive to newsflow around the Brexit negotiations rose on Friday, buoyed by some optimistic comments from Jean-Claude Juncker that a deal could get done by the Halloween deadline.

European Commission President Juncker said he thought a deal on Britain’s exit from the European Union was possible by Oct. 31 and that he was doing “everything” to prevent a no-deal outcome. The comments were made in a Sky News interview.

The news sent the pound higher and the FTSE 250 index, heavily-exposed to domestically-focused U.K. companies, was up 0.4% at 9:55 a.m. on Friday, outperforming a 0.1% gain in the broader Stoxx 600 gauge. The FTSE 100, which has an inverse relationship with the pound, was underperforming other European indexes, falling 0.1%.

U.K.-focused banks got the most benefit, with Metro Bank Plc and CYBG Plc both rising more than 6%. Housebuilders like Barratt Developments Plc and Persimmon Plc were also higher, along with grocers such as Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc and J Sainsbury Plc. Outsourcing firm Capita Plc and private hospitals operator Spire Healthcare Group Plc were also up.

The jump in the pound “has stirred up investor interest in U.K. domestic stocks again, as illustrated by retailers, supermarkets, housebuilders and banks rallying,” said Russ Mould, investment director at stockbroker AJ Bell Plc.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sam Unsted in London at sunsted@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Beth Mellor at bmellor@bloomberg.net, Paul Jarvis

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