<p>Sterling soared Thursday to within a whisker of $1.30, striking five-month peaks after the European Union reached a draft Brexit withdrawal deal with London.</p>.<p>The pound quickly rose more than one percent to $1.2990 before profit-taking set in. The euro slid to 85.76 pence as the news flashed across traders' screens.</p>.<p>The British capital's benchmark FTSE 100 shares index meanwhile accelerated gains to stand 0.6 percent higher compared with Wednesday's closing level.</p>.<p>British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will still have to take the accord to a sceptical UK parliament for its backing on Saturday.</p>.<p>It is unclear how many of his Conservative MPs will back the deal, and if the opposition could vote it down or attempt to force a fresh referendum to approve or reject it.</p>.<p>"In typical eleventh hour fashion, the UK and EU have agreed a new Brexit deal, sending the pound soaring," said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.</p>.<p>"The pound peaked around $1.30 in a knee jerk rally, following confirmation of the agreement before some profit taking kicked in."</p>.<p>News of the last-ditch Brexit deal came just hours before an EU summit that is expected to give it a seal of approval.</p>.<p>"It has been a dream start to the day for Boris Johnson, as the announcement... has seen the pound marching towards the landmark $1.30 barrier for the first time in over five months," said OFX analyst Sebastien Clements.</p>.<p>In volatile deals, the pound had dived earlier after Johnson's allies in Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) pre-emptively rejected the compromise deal.</p>.<p>"Reports that a Brexit deal has been reached has sent stocks as well as sterling soaring," added CMC Markets analyst David Madden.</p>.<p>"Brexit has been millstone hanging over the markets in recent months, so now that progress is being made, dealers are snapping up sterling plus stocks.</p>.<p>"Whether the deal will get approval in Westminster is a different story, but for now, the mood is optimistic," he added.</p>.<p>The DUP are against any deal that would tie Northern Ireland to EU rules but cut the rest of the United Kingdom loose.</p>.<p>In Asia, most markets were in the red, with traders unable to take advantage of weak US retail data that raised the chances of another Federal Reserve interest rate cut.</p>.<p>Comments in the Fed's Beige Book update on the economy also pointed to a slowdown in the world's biggest economy.</p>.<p>Oil prices fell as data pointed to a sharp rise in US stockpiles that reinforced worries about the impact on demand from the China-US trade war and the global economic slowdown.</p>.<p>Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2891 from $1.2832 at 2100 GMT</p>.<p>Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.22 pence from 86.28 pence</p>.<p>Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1111 from $1.1033</p>.<p>Dollar/yen: UP at 108.79 yen from 108.76 yen</p>.<p>London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,209.42 points</p>.<p>Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 5,707.28</p>.<p>Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.6 percent at 12,740.91</p>.<p>EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.3 percent at 3,610.94</p>.<p>Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 22,451.86 (close)</p>.<p>Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.7 percent at 26,848.49 (close)</p>.<p>Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 2,977.33 (close)</p>.<p>New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 27,001.98 (close)</p>.<p>Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $59.26 per barrel</p>.<p>West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.4 percent at $53.26</p>
<p>Sterling soared Thursday to within a whisker of $1.30, striking five-month peaks after the European Union reached a draft Brexit withdrawal deal with London.</p>.<p>The pound quickly rose more than one percent to $1.2990 before profit-taking set in. The euro slid to 85.76 pence as the news flashed across traders' screens.</p>.<p>The British capital's benchmark FTSE 100 shares index meanwhile accelerated gains to stand 0.6 percent higher compared with Wednesday's closing level.</p>.<p>British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will still have to take the accord to a sceptical UK parliament for its backing on Saturday.</p>.<p>It is unclear how many of his Conservative MPs will back the deal, and if the opposition could vote it down or attempt to force a fresh referendum to approve or reject it.</p>.<p>"In typical eleventh hour fashion, the UK and EU have agreed a new Brexit deal, sending the pound soaring," said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.</p>.<p>"The pound peaked around $1.30 in a knee jerk rally, following confirmation of the agreement before some profit taking kicked in."</p>.<p>News of the last-ditch Brexit deal came just hours before an EU summit that is expected to give it a seal of approval.</p>.<p>"It has been a dream start to the day for Boris Johnson, as the announcement... has seen the pound marching towards the landmark $1.30 barrier for the first time in over five months," said OFX analyst Sebastien Clements.</p>.<p>In volatile deals, the pound had dived earlier after Johnson's allies in Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) pre-emptively rejected the compromise deal.</p>.<p>"Reports that a Brexit deal has been reached has sent stocks as well as sterling soaring," added CMC Markets analyst David Madden.</p>.<p>"Brexit has been millstone hanging over the markets in recent months, so now that progress is being made, dealers are snapping up sterling plus stocks.</p>.<p>"Whether the deal will get approval in Westminster is a different story, but for now, the mood is optimistic," he added.</p>.<p>The DUP are against any deal that would tie Northern Ireland to EU rules but cut the rest of the United Kingdom loose.</p>.<p>In Asia, most markets were in the red, with traders unable to take advantage of weak US retail data that raised the chances of another Federal Reserve interest rate cut.</p>.<p>Comments in the Fed's Beige Book update on the economy also pointed to a slowdown in the world's biggest economy.</p>.<p>Oil prices fell as data pointed to a sharp rise in US stockpiles that reinforced worries about the impact on demand from the China-US trade war and the global economic slowdown.</p>.<p>Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2891 from $1.2832 at 2100 GMT</p>.<p>Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.22 pence from 86.28 pence</p>.<p>Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1111 from $1.1033</p>.<p>Dollar/yen: UP at 108.79 yen from 108.76 yen</p>.<p>London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,209.42 points</p>.<p>Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 5,707.28</p>.<p>Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.6 percent at 12,740.91</p>.<p>EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.3 percent at 3,610.94</p>.<p>Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 22,451.86 (close)</p>.<p>Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.7 percent at 26,848.49 (close)</p>.<p>Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 2,977.33 (close)</p>.<p>New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 27,001.98 (close)</p>.<p>Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $59.26 per barrel</p>.<p>West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.4 percent at $53.26</p>