FTSE 100 hits three-month low as pound rallies; Nasdaq hits record high – business live

London stocks are suffering as sterling rises against the US dollar, pushing Apple’s value above the entire FTSE 100Latest: stronger sterling drags FTSE 100 below 5,900 pointsUK factories strengthen, but keep cutting jobsApple worth more than FTSE 100Introduction: China’s factory growth strongest since 2011Pound hits highest level of the year 2.53pm BST Just in: America’s manufacturing sector continued to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic last month, new data shows.Data firm Markit’s US manufacturing PMI has jumped to 53.1 in April, up from 50.9 in July. That shows that activity rose at a faster rate.U.S. IHS MARKIT AUGUST FINAL MANUFACTURING PMI AT 53.1 (VS FLASH 53.6)NEW ORDERS INDEX FOR AUGUST AT 54.1 VS FLASH READING 54.3 VS FINAL JULY 51.3IHS MARKIT U.S. MANUFACTURING PMI AND NEW ORDERS INDEX BOTH AT HIGHEST SINCE JANUARY 2019 ON FINAL BASIS$USD 2.48pm BST Here’s my colleague Mark Sweney on Apple’s rollicking stock market surge:As Apple’s share rally has continued, reaching an all-time record of $2.2tn on Monday, London’s blue-chip companies, from Shell to HSBC, have lost a fifth of their combined value this year.The most valuable company in the FTSE 100, Dove and Marmite maker Unilever, is worth £115bn, close to one 20th of the market cap of Apple. In total the FTSE 100 is valued at £1.5tn. Related: Apple’s $2tn-plus value overtakes the entire FTSE 100 Continue reading…
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