Pound rises as UK turns towards Remain

The pound climbed against the dollar on Monday after the two month lows of last week, as sentiment swings towards staying in the EU.

The pound rose 1.4 percent to hit $1.4560 against the dollar, sending the ‘safe haven’ yen back down and lessening investor caution. Three of the six polls published over the weekend suggested the UK would vote to Remain in the EU.

The FTSE 100 index has also surged by 136 points at the start of trading, climbing over 2 percent and led by the UK-based banks.

However, the country remains divided on the topic, with little clear indication of which way the vote will go – uncertainty which is likely to cause instability ahead of Thursday’s decision.

Majestic Wine shares up on strong results

Shares in wine seller Majestic have risen 6 percent at market open this morning after a strong set of full-year results.

Like for like sales rose 4.8 percent, the first positive performance for the company in four years, with sales delivered by its Naked Wines arm up by 27.3 percent. Profit before tax fell by 30.3 percent, hindered by investment in a transformation plan.

Rowan Gormley, the group’s chief executive, commented, “The management re-organisation is now complete, I am delighted with the teams we have in place across the Group. At Naked Wines we had a belter of a year – breaking through the GBP100m sales barrier and delivering a maiden profit.”

Majestic Wine (LON:WINE) is currently up 5.31 percent at 461.00.

Spain trade deficit plunges

The Spanish trade deficit has plunged over the last year, according to the economy ministry in a statement on Monday.

The country’s trade deficit dropped 71.7 percent in April from a year earlier to 637.3 million euros, with a surge in exports and a drop in imports evening up the balance sheet. The first four months of 2016 set the year off to a good start, seeing the deficit fall by 28.2 percent.

20/06/2016