London midday: Stocks stay flat as investors mull no-deal Brexit, US-China trade tensions
London stocks were still hugging the flat line by midday on Thursday, with investors reluctant to make any big bets either way as they mulled the possibility of no-deal Brexit and as the US-China trade war gathered pace.
The FTSE 100 was steady at 7,575.25, while the pound was unchanged against the dollar and the euro at 1.2906 and 1.1135, respectively.
Trade tensions were still very much on investors' minds as the US and China implemented 25% tariffs on $16bn worth of each other's goods, with talks between the two in Washington set to continue.
Investors were also digesting the latest FOMC minutes released on Wednesday, which suggested that the Fed is likely to hike interest rates again next month and possibly in December.
Meanwhile, Trump was making the headlines yet again after he said in an interview with Fox & Friends that payments to two women alleging to have had affairs with him were not a campaign violation as they came from him personally, not the campaign. The comments came after his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to eight charges including campaign finance violations on Tuesday. Cohen said the payments had been made at the direction of Trump to influence the election.
Back in the UK, the latest survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed that retail sales unexpectedly rose in August, with shoppers hitting the high street as they made the most of the heatwave, but the outlook was less positive.
The CBI's quarterly distributive trades survey found that 51% of respondents reported a rise in sales volumes compared to a year ago, while 21% said they were down, giving a balance of 29%. This was up from +20% the month before and ahead of expectations for a drop to +13%.
The outlook was gloomier, however, with declines in employment, investment intentions and business optimism.
Britain's messy divorce from the EU was also firmly in focus as Brexit secretary Dominic Raab was set to outline the government's preparations for a possible no-deal Brexit in a speech that coincides with the publication of a set of instructions for business and the general public on what they need to do to prepare for such an outcome. Raab is expected to say that Britain will take ‘unilateral action’ in order to keep trade and transport flowing freely.
In corporate news, CRH nudged up after it reported a 5% increase in first-half profit as the building materials group benefited from recovering construction markets.
Playtech surged after it reported a drop in interim earnings but a rise in revenue as the gaming and casino software maker said Asian markets were increasingly competitive.
John Laing was also in the green as the infrastructure investor said first-half profit and net asset value increased, while Southend airport owner Stobart Group pushed up as it made a series of new board appointments.
Premier Oil gushed higher after well-received first-half numbers, while Phoenix Group gained as its first-half operating profit beat expectations.
TalkTalk racked up strong gains after an upgrade to 'overweight' at Barclays.
AstraZeneca slipped as it said a clinical trial of its Bevespi Aerosphere drug combination for lung disease showed that it is not superior to an existing inhaler treatment.
OneSavings Bank lost ground even as it upped its loan growth forecast and posted a jump in first-half profit, as it warned that competition is weighing on profit margins.
Meanwhile, ex-dividends took 4.26 points off the FTSE 100 and 22.37 points off the 250. These included Berkeley Group, Carnival, Croda International, Imperial Brands, LSE, Mondi, Paddy Power Betfair, Prudential, RBS, CLS Holdings, Dixons Carphone, FDM Group, Ferrexpo, HICL Infrastructure, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Jardine Lloyd Thompson, Quilter, Rotork and Stagecoach.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,575.25 0.01%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,685.11 0.21%
techMARK (TASX) 3,553.61 0.04%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,386.00p 1.97%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 1,108.00p 1.65%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 306.80p 1.62%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,272.00p 1.47%
Ferguson (FERG) 6,131.00p 1.22%
Evraz (EVR) 485.68p 1.18%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 2,379.00p 1.10%
Next (NXT) 5,514.00p 1.10%
Pearson (PSON) 937.80p 1.08%
Sage Group (SGE) 641.60p 1.01%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Anglo American (AAL) 1,549.80p -1.70%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,881.00p -1.45%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 243.30p -1.42%
Fresnillo (FRES) 934.00p -1.35%
Prudential (PRU) 1,729.00p -1.26%
Carnival (CCL) 4,624.00p -1.18%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,671.00p -0.92%
Severn Trent (SVT) 1,968.00p -0.91%
Tesco (TSCO) 253.90p -0.86%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 60.57p -0.70%
FTSE 250 - Risers
John Laing Group (JLG) 317.60p 8.32%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 132.40p 7.12%
Playtech (PTEC) 547.00p 5.76%
Contour Global (GLO) 234.00p 4.19%
Premier Oil (PMO) 126.02p 3.72%
Energean Oil & Gas (ENOG) 533.00p 3.09%
Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 240.00p 2.56%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 652.30p 2.37%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 508.50p 2.23%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 507.74p 2.20%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Quilter (QLT) 139.14p -9.06%
SIG (SHI) 125.80p -4.04%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 151.10p -3.51%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 459.60p -3.04%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 165.30p -2.51%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 436.20p -1.58%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,883.00p -1.54%
HICL Infrastructure Company Ltd (HICL) 159.20p -1.48%
FirstGroup (FGP) 89.67p -1.41%
Grafton Group Units (GFTU) 783.50p -1.38%