LONDON'S blue chip index pushed higher and sterling rates were mixed, as markets largely shrugged off the well-flagged triggering of Article 50.
The pound rose 0.1 per cent versus the euro to 1.153, but fell 0.4 per cent against the US dollar to 1.240, dropping back from initial gains made in the wake of Theresa May's address to Parliament this afternoon.
The FTSE 100 ended the day higher by 0.4 per cent or 30.30 points at 7,373.72, thanks in part to the ease in the pound.
It came after the Prime Minister Theresa May sent a letter to European Council president Donald Tusk, formally triggering the two-year process of UK withdrawal from the European Union.
Neil Wilson, a senior market analyst at ETX Capital said: "The countdown to Brexit has begun but by and large markets shrugged off the triggering of Article 50.
"Stocks and the pound took the momentous decision in their stride, largely as expected as Brexit was already priced in.
"We might have expected a touch more volatility as the UK delivered the letter but markets were pretty calm."
Across Europe, Germany's Dax and French Cac 40 both rose around 0.4 per cent.
The price of oil was climbing as armed protesters blocked the western Libyan oil fields of Sharara and Wafa, disrupting supply. Brent crude was up 1.7 per cent to 52.21 US dollars a barrel (£42.10).
In UK stocks, London Stock Exchange Group was one of the biggest risers, up 82p to 3,106p, after European regulators torpedoed its £21 billion merger with Deutsche Borse, saying the two exchanges failed to address competition concerns.
The move comes after the LSE rejected the commission's request last month to offload its 60 per cent stake in the Italian trading platform MTS.
Mining giant BHP Billiton was close behind, rising 33p to 1,260p, after saying it was well positioned to boost value and returns from its western Australia iron ore operation.
In a contrast of fortunes, travel giant Tui Group sank into the red, down 12p to 1,123p, despite summer holiday bookings meeting expectations.
The Thomson owner said British sun-seekers were snapping up more long-haul holidays and cruises as concern over terrorist attacks and political turmoil continue to blight markets in Turkey and North Africa.
Away from the top tier, Flybe Group shares slipped 0.5p to 42.5p.
The airline said profits would take a £5 million to £10m hit due to a major systems upgrade designed to bolster online sales and improve customer experience.
It comes as the company struggles with slowing demand and a spate of cancelled flights.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were 3I Group up 40p to 740.5p, London Stock Exchange Group up 82p to 3,106p, BHP Billiton up 33p to 1,260p, and Antofagasta up 17.5p to 816p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Fresnillo down 27p to 1,535p, Standard Life down 5.8p to 354.4p, Randgold Resources down 115p to 7,055p, and RSA Insurance Group down 7p to 586p.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here