London midday: Stocks flat as focus shifts to Brexit
London stocks gave up their earlier gains to remain flat by midday on Tuesday as investors sifted through corporate news and shifted their attention to Brexit a day before Prime Minister Theresa May triggers Article 50 to kick off formal divorce proceedings with the European Union.
The FTSE 100 was unchanged at 7,293.84, while the pound was flat at $1.2555, steadying following strong gains on Monday.
Analyst Chris Beauchamp at IG said: "The recovery in US markets last night and a relatively positive session in Asia is not translating into gains for the FTSE 100 this morning, and the nearness of the Article 50 activation is undoubtedly contributing to the air of nervousness."
As far as sterling is concerned, markets have had ample time to prepare, said CMC Markets' Michael Hewson.
"Recent economic data continues to remain fairly buoyant, even though there are some weak points but that is entirely normal in a time of rising prices and squeezes on incomes. Furthermore the predictions of a sterling fall to $1.10 against the US dollar from some a number of credible sources seem more designed to generate headlines than be grounded in any type of economic reality.
"Most of the economic downside is largely already priced in, which would suggest that as long as we stay above the recent lows then the risk remains more to the upside than the downside."
In corporate news, Tesco shares were little changed after it agreed to pay a £129m fine to the Serious Fraud office and agreed to a finding of "market abuse" by the Financial Conduct Authority for overstating its expected profits in its trading update in August 2014.
Tesco was also in focus following a report that two of the largest shareholders in the supermarket retailer were advising against its £3.7bn takeover of wholesaler Booker, whose shares dropped.
Wolseley surged after the building materials supplier unveiled a name change, a jump in half-year profits and its intention to exit Nordic operations.
United Utilities nudged higher after it said current full year trading was in line with expectations, with group revenue expected to be slightly lower than last year.
Insurer Aviva was on the front foot following a report that it is looking to sell Friends Provident International in a deal that could fetch up to $750m.
Thomas Cook gained ground as it said its winter programme was closing out as expected, while summer bookings have increased with strong demand for Greek holidays and smaller European destinations.
Motoring group AA was in the green after it said full-year core profit was steady compared to the previous year, as expected, while membership increased, reversing a long-standing decline.
Housebuilder Redrow traded a higher after abandoning its bid for Bovis Homes, saying it was not in its shareholders' best interests to increase its offer.
Soft drinks company AG Barr rose after it posted a jump in full-year profit and lifted its dividend.
Ladbrokes Coral retreated after it reported that its first full-year results as a merged company saw profits near the top end of forecasts.
Aerospace and defence group Cobham fell after it confirmed plans to raise around £512.4m through a rights issue as it looks to pay down debt.
Card Factory was in the red after it reported a rise in full-year underlying pre-tax profit, but a drop in statutory pre-tax profit.
Shares in OneSavings Bank fell after private investment firm JC Flowers sold around 24.3m shares in the challenger bank, equating to a 10% stake.
Inmarsat was lifted by an upgrade to 'outperform' from 'sector perform' by RBC Capital Markets, but Jimmy Choo was hit by a downgrade to 'hold' by HSBC and Carillion fell on the back of a Jefferies downgrade.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,293.84 0.00%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,854.02 -0.24%
techMARK (TASX) 3,456.00 -0.07%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Wolseley (WOS) 5,180.00p 6.08%
Pearson (PSON) 647.50p 2.29%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 737.60p 2.02%
Next (NXT) 4,290.00p 1.37%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,103.00p 1.11%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,973.00p 1.05%
Aviva (AV.) 528.50p 1.05%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,209.50p 1.04%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,163.50p 1.01%
WPP (WPP) 1,710.00p 1.00%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 189.70p -1.56%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,065.00p -1.53%
easyJet (EZJ) 998.50p -1.33%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 867.00p -1.14%
Experian (EXPN) 1,614.00p -1.10%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,897.00p -1.04%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 66.30p -0.97%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 7,282.00p -0.94%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 539.00p -0.92%
Old Mutual (OML) 216.00p -0.92%
FTSE 250 - Risers
AA (AA.) 268.10p 4.81%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 432.80p 3.07%
CYBG (CYBG) 271.50p 2.69%
Evraz (EVR) 215.10p 2.58%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 280.70p 2.52%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 161.30p 2.48%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 209.80p 1.84%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 557.50p 1.83%
Meggitt (MGGT) 444.80p 1.76%
Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 2,141.00p 1.76%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 395.00p -6.38%
Carillion (CLLN) 210.70p -4.05%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,900.00p -2.68%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 87.05p -2.57%
Capita (CPI) 555.50p -2.54%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 853.00p -2.29%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 336.80p -2.24%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 311.20p -2.20%
Card Factory (CARD) 268.20p -2.12%
NMC Health (NMC) 1,744.00p -1.97%