FTSE 100 watch: Footsie little changed as Britain votes

The UK benchmark index has inched marginally lower in today’s session, with Britons heading to the polls to vote for the country’s next parliament. In individual movers, Rentokil (LON:RTO) has rallied to the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard after the European Commission cleared the company’s joint venture with Haniel.

As of 13:00 BST, the FTSE 100 had shed 13.42 points to stand 0.18 percent lower at 7,465.20, having traded marginally higher earlier in the session. The index has been has been struggling for direction with investors awaiting the outcome of today’s general election.
“Some investors, possibly the market makers, have been told to get their books fairly straight rather than having long positions in stocks that could take a caning,” Paul Mumford, manager of the Cavendish opportunities fund, told Reuters.

The Telegraph meanwhile quoted Craig Erlam, of OANDA, as cautioning that if things don’t go as planned today, the pound is vulnerable to a ‘sharp decline’.
“Should we see a hung parliament then things could get messy,” he pointed out, adding that while this might initially be bad for the FTSE 100, “given the general knee jerk reaction that can often follow, the weaker pound may boost it in the medium term, as it did in the days after Brexit”.

In other news, the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged today, in line with forecasts, noting that it expects them to “remain at their present levels for an extended period of time”.
In individual stock news, Rentokil’s share price has surged 0.90 percent to 278.90p after the European Commission cleared the group’s joint venture with Franz Haniel. The two companies announced plans in December last year to create a provider of workwear and hygiene services in Europe.
**The FTSE 100 was 0.19 percent down at 7,464.28 points as of 13:11 BST on Thursday, 08 June 2017.**