LONDON MARKETS: British Pound Holds Above $1.28 After EU Grants 3-month Brexit Extension

By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch

The British pound held above the $1.28 level after the European Union granted a three-month delay to Brexit, ensuring that a no-deal departure won't be imminent.

The pound traded at $1.2832 versus $1.2828.

The European Union agreed to delay Brexit until Jan. 31 next year on Monday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eu-grants-new-brexit-delay-to-jan-31-2019-10-28)-- just three days before it was due to take place.

The next step is likely to be a general election before a vote in the U.K. Parliament is taken on the withdrawal agreement.

The FTSE 100 meanwhile declined 0.05% to 7320.83

HSBC Holdings (HSBA.LN) slumped 4% as the bank said it can no longer hit next year's target of an 11% return on tangible equity. The bank's profit tumbled 24% in the third quarter on what it called challenging conditions.

Analysts at Jefferies said the bank had a relatively weak performance across foreign exchange, interest rates, credit and equities within its global banking and markets division. Hyperinflation from Argentina also hurt the bank's results.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 28, 2019 09:24 ET (13:24 GMT)

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