London midday: Stocks maintain gains as Brexit worries weigh on sterling

London stocks were maintaining gains by midday on Monday as Brexit uncertainty weighed on the pound.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.6% to 7,143.36 as sterling dipped 0.1% against the dollar to 1.2999, languishing at its worst level in nearly three weeks. Against the euro, sterling was down 0.2% at 1.1564, having earlier tumbled to 1.1528.

Prime Minister Theresa May was looking to downgrade Tuesday's promised 'meaningful vote' to a provisional vote, according to a number of reports.

But a 10 Downing Street spokesman said the meaningful vote on May's Brexit deal will go ahead as planned, with the motion to be published later on Monday.

David Cheetham, chief market analyst at XTB, said a defeat in Tuesday's vote would trigger two further votes before Thursday, first on whether MPs oppose a no-deal and then whether they would support an extension of Article 50.

"If this all plays out as expected then it would pave the way for an extension of the current deadline beyond 29 March. This path has been seen as favourable for the pound ever since the currency rallied back in January when the PM lost the first meaningful vote, with the consensus view being that it supports a softer version of Brexit or perhaps even no Brexit at all (Due to time constraints a 2nd referendum would require an extension of Article 50).

"However, there remains a nagging feeling that this line of thought is more than a little presumptuous, and it would not be entirely surprising if a different sequence of events played out. For instance, the PM’s position remains precarious to say the least, and should she be forced out of number 10 and replaced by a more hardline Brexiteer, then the chances of a no-deal Brexit would rise significantly and could cause an angry reaction in the pound."

On the corporate front, deal news was in focus as challenger banks Charter Court Financial Services and OneSavings Bank confirmed that they are in advanced talks about a potential merger to create a “leading specialist mortgage lender in the UK”.

The deal would be structured so that OSB would acquire Charter Court and its shareholders would end up with 55% of the enlarged group, with OSB chief executive Andy Golding continuing in that role. Shares in both companies rose sharply on the news.

UAE-based private healthcare operator NMC Health was a high riser as Barclays included the stock in its European Top Picks list, saying that management has demonstrated its ability to strike very attractive deals whilst not losing sight of the underlying business.

Doorstep lender Provident Financial was in the green as it said the £1.3bn hostile bid from Non-Standard Finance risks jeopardising the company's turnaround after its smaller rival published its offer document.

On the downside, Persimmon fell after The Times said over the weekend that it has launched a lawsuit against BT over unpaid work on hundreds of its sites. BT was also in the red.

Cairn Energy was under the cosh after saying it expects the arbitration process against the Indian authorities regarding its $1.4bn compensation claim to take longer than initially thought.

Integrated shipping services provider Clarksons retreated as it posted a better-than-expected full-year profit but sounded a cautious note on the outlook due in part to Brexit uncertainties and the impact of the trade war.

Credit checking firm Experian was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'sell' from 'hold' at Deutsche Bank, which highlighted a less supportive market and said it would be very difficult for the group to replicate the growth seen over the last 12 months.

Ocado ticked lower after newspapers reported on an HSBC survey that showed almost a quarter of its customers might stop shopping there if Waitrose products were not available.

Fashion brand Superdry was weaker as it urged its shareholders to vote against the appointments of co-founder Julian Dunkerton and Peter Williams as director at a general meeting due to be held in April.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,143.36 0.55%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,071.11 0.12%
techMARK (TASX) 3,479.75 0.39%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 5,720.00p 3.53%
NMC Health (NMC) 2,678.00p 3.48%
3i Group (III) 962.80p 2.19%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 243.10p 2.01%
Evraz (EVR) 590.04p 1.77%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 7,020.00p 1.52%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,010.50p 1.52%
Prudential (PRU) 1,540.50p 1.52%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 493.82p 1.48%
Aviva (AV.) 421.00p 1.47%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Persimmon (PSN) 2,200.00p -2.14%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 468.60p -1.78%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,104.00p -1.68%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 764.60p -1.60%
Experian (EXPN) 1,991.83p -1.39%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 581.00p -1.27%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 852.80p -0.72%
Rightmove (RMV) 493.90p -0.69%
Informa (INF) 719.20p -0.61%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,876.00p -0.59%

FTSE 250 - Risers

OneSavings Bank (OSB) 406.20p 9.78%
Charter Court Financial Services Group (CCFS) 334.60p 9.20%
G4S (GFS) 207.90p 3.43%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 452.29p 3.00%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 210.40p 2.83%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 834.90p 2.76%
Genus (GNS) 2,315.00p 2.71%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 447.80p 2.38%
IMI (IMI) 993.00p 2.16%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 4,372.00p 2.10%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Clarkson (CKN) 2,374.75p -8.31%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 180.65p -7.93%
SIG (SHI) 126.60p -4.45%
Vivo Energy (VVO) 128.26p -3.29%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 130.40p -3.26%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 147.40p -3.03%
Indivior (INDV) 113.20p -1.91%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 382.40p -1.85%
Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 142.48p -1.74%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 241.88p -1.67%