FTSE 100 rallies after Article 50 is triggered and Brexit officially starts
Shares in London Stock Exchange dropped as the UK officially triggered Article 50 before finishing up by the end of trading
SHARES in the FTSE 100 finished up after Article 50 was triggered and the UK officially began the process of leaving the EU.
The index of the UK's blue chip firms ended at 7373.72 - up 30.30 points on yesterday's close, while the FTSE Mid-250 index ended up 25.31 at 18978.65.
Since June's shock vote to quit the EU, British shares have found support from a slide in sterling, resurgent commodity markets and a much better economic performance than had been feared, and the benchmark hit a record high of 7,447.0 in March.
"The FTSE has had a spectacular run since the Brexit vote, with the share prices of UK multinationals benefiting from the lower pound. In addition, the FTSE has benefited from a general uptrend in global stock markets since the U.S. election," said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist CMC Markets.
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But what's next? According to a poll by Reuters, Britain's FTSE 100 share index will dip in the months after the country starts official divorce proceedings later on Wednesday with the European Union but reach new record highs next year.
By the time 2017 comes to a conclusion the benchmark index will have roared back to 7,425, according to the poll, taken in the past week.
It will then power through the previous high to reach 7,500 by end-June next year.
Britain’s permanent European Union representative Sir Tim Barrow will hand deliver the Article 50 document to the EU council president Donald Tusk today, as Mrs May faces MPs’ questions in Parliament.
It will mark the start of complex and contentious negotiations that put the UK on course to break its ties with the Brussels club by the end of March 2019.
Follow all the latest news and updates as Theresa May triggers the Brexit process on our Live Blog.