UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Victor Reklaitis and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Brexit vote slated for 8 p.m. London time

U.K. stocks ended little-changed on Wednesday, with traders appearing to be avoiding big bets as they watched for a final vote in parliament on a key Brexit bill.

The FTSE 100 closed out 0.04% higher at 7,188.82, after a session that lacked momentum.

The muted action came ahead of a key vote on a Brexit bill in the House of Commons slated to come at 8 p.m. London time, or 3 p.m. Eastern Time, the BBC reported (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38902484). Lawmakers are expected to give a green light to amendments to legislation allowing the government to start the process of leaving the European Union.

"It has become quite clear that sterling remains dictated by the Brexit developments with price sensitivity set to heighten in the coming weeks," said Lukman Otunuga, an analyst at FXTM, in a note. "The overall sentiment towards the pound remains heavily bearish, and uncertainty should provide a solid foundation for sellers to drag the sterling/dollar back towards $1.2350."

Read:Brexit bill clears key hurdle in parliament--what happens next? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/brexit-bill-works-its-way-through-parliament-what-to-watch-2017-02-01)

The pound was buying $1.2542, down up from $1.2513 late Tuesday in New York, drawing support from Bank of England policy maker Kristin Forbes saying U.K. interest rates may need to rise soon (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/02/07/bank-england-policymaker-hints-higher-interest-rates-may-needed/) to keep inflation in check.

Mining moves: After opening in positive territory, gains for the U.K.'s miners fizzled through the day to end at the bottom of the FTSE.

Rio Tinto (RIO) (RIO) (BHP.AU) ended down 1.7%, even after the Anglo-Australian miner said it swung to a profit in 2016 and announced a full-year dividend (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rio-tinto-swings-to-profit-plans-share-buyback-2017-02-08) of $1.70 a share. The dividend was down from a year ago, but higher than expectations.

BHP Billiton PLC (BLT.LN) (BHP.AU) (BHP.AU) lost 3.4% as workers at the company's majority-owned Minera Escondida in Chile were expected to strike Thursday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/workers-at-huge-chile-copper-mine-ready-to-strike-2017-02-07).

Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) lost 1.8% and Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN) fell 0.3%.

Metals prices were higher across the board at the close of the European session, after struggling for direction earlier in the day.

Other movers: Also on the downside, Hargreaves Lansdown PLC (HL.LN) fell 1.6%. The provider of investment products posted a 21% rise in first-half pretax profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hargreaves-lansdown-profit-rises-on-higher-volumes-2017-02-08), but said the second half of the year will be impacted by the financial services compensation scheme levy, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

Oil giants Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) (RDSB.LN) dropped 1.8% and BP (BP.LN) (BP.LN) fell 0.3%. The losses came even as oil prices erased earlier sharp losses (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-tumble-as-investors-brace-for-possible-spike-in-us-supply-2017-02-08)and traded firmly higher after inventory data showed the second-largest weekly climb on record for U.S. crude supplies.

Some analysts and traders attributed the turn higher in oil futures to gains in gasoline futures, which rallied on the back of an unexpected weekly decline in gasoline supplies.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK.LN) (GSK.LN) ended flat after reporting a drop in net earnings due (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/glaxosmithkline-swings-to-profit-on-weak-pound-2017-02-08-9485380) to restructuring costs related to the drugmaker's $20 billion asset-swap deal with Novartis AG (NOVN.EB) (NOVN.EB).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 08, 2017 12:22 ET (17:22 GMT)

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