LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Held Back By Rising Pound As U.K.'s May Delays Brexit Vote
February 25 2019 - 9:30AM
Dow Jones News
By Emily Horton
London's markets struggled on Monday, bucking a positive trend
for the rest of Europe's indexes, after the pound rose and held
back the FTSE 100 on the news U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has
delayed a parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal.
Heavyweight miners boosted London's indexes.
How are markets performing?
The FTSE 100 was slightly subdued on Monday compared to the rest
of Europe's markets, flat at 7,179.20 after finishing 0.8% down for
the week last Friday.
Market momentum was held back by a strong pound which fetched
$1.3073 from $1.3055 late on Friday in New York, after Prime
Minister Theresa May pushed back U.K. parliament's vote on her
Brexit deal to March 12.
Read:Dollar rivals gain as trade deadline extension boosts risk
appetite
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-rivals-gain-as-trade-deadline-extension-boosts-risk-appetite-2019-02-25)
The relief comes from hopes that Britain's official exit date
"will likely be extended given that the vote could take place just
17 days before the U.K. is officially due to exit the European
Union" according to Dean Popplewell, vice president of Market
Analysis. Furthermore, the delay is likely to reduce the chance of
Britain leaving the European Union with no-deal, removing a thin
layer of uncertainty.
What's driving the markets?
Heavyweight miners supported the FTSE 100 on Monday, with
Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) up 2%, Antofagasta PLC (ANTO.LN) jumping by
1.7% and Evraz PLC(EVR.LN) adding 1.2%.
Global stocks rose after President Donald Trump's tariff
deadline delay to $200 billion of Chinese goods. He tweeted
(https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1099800961089003522)on
Sunday "substantial progress" had been made during negotiations
between the world's two largest economies.
What stocks are active?
Persimmon PLC (PSN.LN) tumbled 5.3% on Monday, after the
UK-listed home builder came under fire from UK housing minister
James Brokenshire for its practices in a government funded housing
scheme called "Help to Buy", Reuters reported
(https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-persimmon-stocks/persimmon-shares-fall-after-practices-in-government-house-funding-scheme-come-under-fire-idUKKCN1QE0WV).
In sympathy, Barratt Developments PLC (BDEV.LN) and Taylor Wimpey
PLC (TW.LN) also dropped by around 2%.
Bunzl PLC (BZLFY) lost over 3% on Monday, despite a rise in
profits and an upbeat outlook
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bunzl-profit-rises-38-outlook-upbeat-2019-02-25)
from the distribution-and-outsourcing company.
After Associated British Food PLC (ABF.LN) warned it expects to
report a flat first-half adjusted earnings on sales
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ab-foods-forecasts-flat-earnings-2019-02-25),
its share price dropped by 1.4%.
Meanwhile, AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.LN) climbed by 1.7% after the
heavyweight pharmaceutical company announced its heart drug
Brilinta had met a goal in a late-stage trail
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/astrazeneca-positive-results-from-brilinta-trial-2019-02-25),
which showed a statistically significant reduction in major adverse
cardiovascular events compared to aspirin alone.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 25, 2019 09:15 ET (14:15 GMT)
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