LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Ends Lower As Brexit Work Gets Under Way

By Carla Mozee and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

U.K. stocks ended a choppy day in negative territory on Thursday, pressured by a rally for the pound as the British government cracked on with the process of leaving the European Union.

The FTSE 100 index fell 0.1% to close at 7,369.52, its first loss in three sessions.

The small pullback came as the pound jumped to $1.2489 from $1.2435 late Wednesday in New York, recovering from Wednesday's losses that came after the U.K. government handed in its formal letter stating its intent to exit from the EU.

"With the triggering of Article 50 failing to spark a major catastrophe (beyond, you know, Brexit itself) it appears investors are willing to allow the pound to return to the highs it saw at the start of the week," wrote Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, in a note.

The U.K. government on Thursday published a White Paper, dubbed the "Great Repeal Bill" (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/brexit-uk-reveals-great-repeal-plan-to-replace-eu-laws-2017-03-30) to discuss how it will implement legislation aimed at converting exiting European Union law into U.K. law.

Read:Brexit--here's what happens now that the U.K. has triggered Article 50 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/brexit-heres-what-happens-now-that-the-uk-has-triggered-article-50-2017-03-29)

And see:'We already miss you,' EU president Tusk tells U.K. after Brexit letter (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/we-already-miss-you-eu-president-tusk-tells-uk-after-brexit-letter-2017-03-29)

Movers: Ashtead Group PLC (AHT.LN) rose 2.4% to the top of the FTSE 100 after coverage of the equipment-rental company was started with a buy rating at Liberum, with a GBP19.40 price target.

"The upside potential from increased rental penetration in the U.S. market is yet to be fully reflected in Ashtead's share price, in our view," said Liberum analyst Rahim Karim in a note.

SSE PLC shares (SSE.LN) fell 1.6% after the gas and electricity supplier said lower operating profit from its networks unit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sse-lower-networks-profit-to-weigh-on-dividend-2017-03-30) would weigh on its dividend cover.

London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LSE.LN) advanced 0.9% as the exchange operator said it plans to buy back shares worth a total of GBP200 million. The move comes after the company's $28 billion planned merger with Deutsche Börse AG was blocked Wednesday by the European Union's antitrust watchdog. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eu-blocks-lse-deutsche-borse-merger-2017-03-29-54851952)

Imperial Brands PLC (IMBBY) ended up 0.4% after the tobacco maker maintained its fiscal 2017 earnings target (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/imperial-keeps-earnings-target-to-invest-300-mln-2017-03-30)and said it would invest an additional 300 million pounds ($374.1 million) in the current year.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 30, 2017 12:07 ET (16:07 GMT)

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