London midday: Stocks maintain gains; big week for central banks
London stocks were holding on to gains by midday on Monday as investors digested the latest on Brexit and looked ahead to a week of central bank updates.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.5% to 7,433.34, while the pound was flat versus the dollar at 1.3386 and 0.2% weaker against the euro at 1.1354.
James Hughes at Axi Trader said: “With little out of the calendar today we will also have to focus on comments regarding Brexit from Brexit secretary David Davis, after comments he made over the weekend saying that he wants a Canada plus plus plus trade deal, meaning he wants no tariffs at all. The reference is to a free trade deal that Canada currently has with the EU, but Davis has also started he wants financial services included in the deal, something that Canada doesn’t have.
“Again there is that feeling that the UK are putting out the rhetoric stating they will take no prisoners in the talks, and plan on leaving with everything they came looking for, very much like the divorce deal. However we know that the outcome of the divorce bill talks was that the UK backed down on all aspects and ended up paying their full allocation. The issue the government and David Davis now has is that the markets are losing faith in their ability to get a good deal.”
Aside from keeping an eye out for any Brexit headlines, investors were awaiting updates from the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank this week.
In corporate news, Babcock was on the front foot after it said the adoption of new accounting rule IFRS 15 would not require a change in contract revenue or profit recognition.
BAE Systems nudged up as it announced a £5bn contract to supply Typhoon aircraft to the Qatari air force.
Global thread maker Coats rose after saying it has bought US specialist yarn manufacturer Patrick Yarn Mill for $21m with a further $4m on the table subject to performance targets.
Investec advanced as it reassured investors that it has "immaterial exposure" to embattled South African retail giant Steinhoff International, which caused alarm for its lenders after its shares fell 80% last week.
Premier Oil gushed higher after agreeing to sell its 30% stake in the Esmond Transportation System pipeline in the North Sea to Cats Management for up to £23.6m.
Hochschild and Acacia Mining shone as gold prices rose, while Antofagasta was lifted by firmer copper prices.
Convatec gained after an upgrade to ‘overweight’ by Morgan Stanley, but Inmarsat was hit by a downgrade to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs.
Whitbread was in the red following after the chief executive told The Times that Costa and Premier Inn are not yet ready to stand alone.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,433.34 0.53%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,999.52 0.03%
techMARK (TASX) 3,453.07 0.28%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Babcock International Group (BAB) 679.50p 2.72%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 913.00p 2.18%
WPP (WPP) 1,370.22p 2.18%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,729.00p 2.07%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 214.50p 2.05%
Shire Plc (SHP) 3,722.50p 2.04%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,332.00p 1.99%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,366.00p 1.83%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 746.10p 1.76%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 5,017.00p 1.58%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
easyJet (EZJ) 1,424.00p -2.20%
Centrica (CNA) 141.59p -1.74%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 353.70p -1.50%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,940.00p -1.35%
British Land Company (BLND) 647.35p -1.17%
Hammerson (HMSO) 520.50p -1.14%
Next (NXT) 4,435.00p -1.07%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,490.00p -0.93%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,312.00p -0.91%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 2,003.00p -0.79%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 235.30p 6.04%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 174.10p 4.69%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 545.04p 3.82%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 266.10p 3.54%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 659.00p 3.21%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 942.00p 2.95%
Evraz (EVR) 311.40p 2.94%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 753.00p 2.94%
Investec (INVP) 474.00p 2.73%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 139.80p 2.72%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Inmarsat (ISAT) 460.34p -5.24%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 146.70p -5.05%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 165.90p -3.21%
Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 464.30p -2.54%
esure Group (ESUR) 254.90p -2.30%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 833.00p -2.17%
Saga (SAGA) 132.25p -2.04%
Workspace Group (WKP) 942.50p -1.98%
Capita (CPI) 476.80p -1.91%
PayPoint (PAY) 890.40p -1.61%