With sterling drifting to a 15 year low against the U.S. dollar, there were more than one or two signs that investors are looking for beneficiaries from the weakened currency. Analysts say that sterling's depreciation may be the catalyst that pushes the FTSE 100 decisively through the 6,000 level. The immediate beneficiaries of a weaker currency are overseas earners, which gain from currency translation effects on earnings, and manufacturers, whose exports would then increase. Widely noted are the big gains that equities made in 1997 on EMU-entry speculation. With no clear answers on the timing of a referendum, sterling is likely to remain vulnerable to heightened EMU speculation.

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