FTSE 100 hits new record high on sterling weakness

By Helen Reid

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's blue-chip index hit a new record high on Monday, supported by sterling's weakness on 'hard Brexit' concerns, as miners continued to lead sectoral gains.

The FTSE 100 opened at a record high of 7,239.26 points, then settled at 7,227.11 points, up 0.2 percent, by 1020 GMT. It was heading for its tenth daily session of gains.

The index tends to gain as sterling drops, due to a large number of dollar earning constituents.

"The FTSE is still currency-led, with Brexit uncertainty over the weekend grinding it higher," said Mark Ward, head of execution trading at Sanlam Securities UK.

"I don't think these markets will go lower anytime soon."

The pound slid to an eight-week low against the euro in early London trade, after British Prime Minister Theresa May this weekend said she was not interested in keeping 'bits' of European Union membership.

Strong performance in basic resources and consumer stocks also underpinned the index.

Anglo American, Glencore and BHP Billiton were among the top gainers, tracking the price of copper higher.

Glencore led the FTSE, up 2.4 percent, supported by a note by Barclays reiterating its 'overweight' rating and increasing its target price on the stock.

British American Tobacco was the third top FTSE gainer, driving the consumer goods' sectoral gains.

Outsourcing company Capita Plc was the top faller, followed by Land Securities Group and Vodafone, which was feeling the heat after UBS cut its target price on the stock.

Capita, down 2.4 percent, has been under pressure from a string of analyst downgrades. UBS cut its target price on the stock from 675p to 540p.

Bookmaker William Hill was among top fallers in the mid-cap index, down 3.1 percent after it reported 2016 operating profits at the bottom end of its guidance, due to unfavourable December football and horse-racing results.

"A third profit warning, fears over what the Government's review of Fixed Odds Betting Terminals may mean and the ongoing absence of a full-time chief executive all leave bookmaker William Hill among the FTSE All-Share's also-rans this morning," said AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

Emerging markets specialist broker Ashmore was bottom of the FTSE 250, down 7.2 percent after a top-rated Barclays analyst cut its target price due to concerns about EM exposure amid deteriorating sentiment.

The FTSE small-cap index hit a new record high of 5,238.08 points in early trade, trading up 0.3 percent at 5,230.99 points.

(Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Toby Chopra)