United Kingdom ETF rises after tentative Brexit deal announced

A popular U.K.-specific exchange-traded fund rose Thursday after Britain and the European Union struck a tentative deal to exit from out of the trade bloc. The iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF rose 0.4%. The iShares ETF maintains a high concentration of large and midcap companies and a particularly heavy concentration to financial shares (19.9%) and the energy sector (17.95%), according to FactSet data. For the week, the ETF is on pace for a gain of 0.9% after a 3.4% rise last week. The rally for the U.K. ETF comes as the embattled pound has been surging against the dollar on hopes of a Brexit divorce agreement. The buck last changed hands against the pound at $1.2849, with the U.S. dollar down 1.2% against the U.K. unit. A stronger pound tends to cap gains in U.K. stocks because it can weigh on revenue for the export-heavy economy. Despite reaching the draft Brexit agreement, the U.K. parliament must ratify the pact on Saturday.

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