London midday: Stocks maintain gains as pound drops, RBS rallies
London stocks were holding on to modest gains by midday, underpinned by a weaker pound and well-received third-quarter earnings from RBS.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% to 7,503.51, while the pound was down 0.5% against the dollar at 1.3098 and 0.3% weaker versus the euro at 1.1267.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "The pound’s miserable morning continued this Friday; the US markets, meanwhile, await the third quarter growth data.
"It seems that yesterday’s truly dismal retail figures from the CBI - which, in October, showed the sharpest decline since the recession - have helped spark some late in the week jitters about whether or not the Bank of England will raise rates next Thursday."
US third-quarter GDP figures are out at 1330 BST, while the Michigan consumer sentiment index is at 1500 BST.
Market participants were also continuing to keep an eye on Spain, where the Senate is expected to vote in favour of stripping Catalonia of its autonomous powers and imposing direct rule from Madrid.
In corporate news, Royal Bank of Scotland was in the black after saying it swung to a profit of £392m in the third quarter versus a loss of £469m in the same period a year ago as restructuring and conduct costs fell.
Specialty chemicals group Elementis rallied after saying it delivered "another good revenue performance" in the third quarter and that it remains on track overall, while insurer Hastings nudged up as it reported a rise in nine-month gross written premiums.
In broker note action, Compass was boosted by an upgrade to 'outperform' at RBC Capital Markets, while Aviva was higher after Barclays upped the stock to 'overweight'.
On the downside, British Airways and Iberia parent International Consolidated Airlines Group flew lower despite reporting reported a 20.7% jump in third-quarter operating profit to €1.46bn and saying operating profit for the full year should come in at around €3bn before exceptional items.
Shares in Tullow Oil gushed lowerafter the company said its Araku-1 exploration well in Suriname found no significant reservoir quality rocks and is now being plugged and abandoned.
IT infrastructure services provider Computacenter reversed earlier gains to trade down after saying overall revenue jumped 27% year-on-year in the third quarter, to £931m, while temporary power provider Drax also turned lower as it announced the appointment of Den Jones as interim chief financial officer from 1 November.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,503.51 0.23%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,163.58 0.00%
techMARK (TASX) 3,506.20 0.17%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Compass Group (CPG) 1,640.00p 2.50%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 6,782.00p 2.14%
Experian (EXPN) 1,580.00p 1.61%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 443.60p 1.58%
Diageo (DGE) 2,602.50p 1.46%
BAE Systems (BA.) 595.50p 1.45%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 285.00p 1.42%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,188.00p 1.38%
GKN (GKN) 320.20p 1.20%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 5,021.00p 1.11%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 638.00p -4.78%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,845.00p -2.51%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,283.00p -2.43%
Glencore (GLEN) 370.20p -2.26%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 965.00p -2.18%
ITV (ITV) 165.30p -1.78%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 203.90p -1.69%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,409.50p -1.54%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 749.70p -1.54%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,846.00p -1.52%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Elementis (ELM) 291.50p 4.03%
Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 1,124.00p 2.27%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 653.00p 2.27%
William Hill (WMH) 248.40p 1.97%
Greencore Group (GNC) 197.40p 1.91%
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 258.80p 1.77%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 924.50p 1.71%
Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) 2,600.00p 1.64%
Provident Financial (PFG) 898.50p 1.64%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,528.00p 1.53%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Tullow Oil (TLW) 172.10p -5.65%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 258.70p -3.97%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 592.50p -3.42%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 343.70p -2.41%
Sirius Minerals (SXX) 27.18p -2.30%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 1,176.00p -2.16%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 829.50p -2.07%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 565.00p -1.99%
Galliford Try (GFRD) 1,247.00p -1.97%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,199.00p -1.96%