London midday: Stocks extend gains as AstraZeneca rallies
London stocks had extended gains by midday on Thursday, helped along by a softer pound and some well-received corporate releases as investors awaited the EU's decision on a Brexit extension.
The FTSE 100 was 0.9% firmer at 7,326.86, while the pound was down 0.2% against the dollar and the euro at 1.2884 and 1.1581, respectively.
Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "At present it looks like the EU will only offer the extension once the UK says what it’s for, while the government doesn’t really want to commit itself either way until it knows the length of any extension.
"It’s also been reported the cabinet is split over whether to go all-in with an election, or seek to get this deal through Parliament."
Away from Brexit, attention will turn to the European Central Bank's latest policy announcement at 1245 BST, which will be Mario Draghi's last as president.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "The timing of today’s meeting could not be better, since it comes after a raft of PMIs that have confirmed the lack of economic growth in the eurozone, even if the figures were not abysmal.
"A final request to eurozone governments regarding fiscal stimulus is bound to feature, since Draghi will not want to dispense with this tradition now, despite how futile it has been. If Ms Lagarde fails to take up Mr Draghi’s dovish mantle, investors may find themselves wishing the kindly Italian was back in charge, since there is little to encourage optimism in European economic data at present."
In corporate news, AstraZeneca was sitting pretty at the top of the FTSE 100 after the pharmaceuticals giant lifted its sales guidance for the second quarter as it posted a rise in third-quarter sales.
Relx rallied as the business publisher backed its full-year guidance and said underlying revenue grew 4% in the first nine months of the year.
Kaz Minerals racked up healthy gains as it reported a jump in third-quarter copper production and said production for the full year was expected to be at the upper end of its guidance range.
AJ Bell rose after the investment platform reported an increase in assets under management and customer numbers for the first full year of trading since its IPO.
On the downside, Royal Bank of Scotland fell after saying it swung to a third-quarter loss after making a £900m provision for payment protection insurance. In the three months to 30 September, the bank made an operating loss before tax of £8m versus a £961m profit in the same period a year ago.
Rolls-Royce, ITV, Ferguson, Howden Joinery, Balfour Beatty and Coats were all in the red as their stock went ex-dividend.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,326.86 0.91%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,215.80 0.17%
techMARK (TASX) 3,861.24 1.13%
FTSE 100 - Risers
AstraZeneca (AZN) 7,193.00p 3.96%
Relx plc (REL) 1,830.50p 3.45%
3i Group (III) 1,112.50p 3.15%
Aveva Group (AVV) 4,034.00p 2.91%
Carnival (CCL) 3,186.00p 2.18%
BAE Systems (BA.) 547.40p 2.01%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,889.60p 1.94%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,777.00p 1.89%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 445.80p 1.78%
Rightmove (RMV) 586.40p 1.73%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 700.00p -3.66%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 227.50p -2.65%
Evraz (EVR) 385.10p -2.01%
ITV (ITV) 135.06p -1.91%
Ferguson (FERG) 6,410.00p -1.45%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 161.14p -0.98%
Whitbread (WTB) 4,142.00p -0.91%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,396.00p -0.58%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 5,895.00p -0.44%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 60.05p -0.38%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 483.90p 7.13%
Contour Global (GLO) 197.20p 4.56%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 384.80p 4.23%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 489.30p 3.80%
AJ Bell (AJB) 379.15p 2.20%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 113.90p 2.11%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 624.20p 1.96%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,465.00p 1.95%
Hays (HAS) 162.20p 1.95%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 344.00p 1.90%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,440.00p -5.34%
Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 157.38p -3.74%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 138.50p -3.69%
Coats Group (COA) 70.40p -3.16%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,306.00p -2.76%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 1,104.00p -2.47%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 413.00p -2.25%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 214.80p -2.10%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 277.00p -1.95%
Sirius Minerals (SXX) 3.07p -1.93%