London close: Stocks end mixed, Brexit worries weigh on sentiment

Stocks finished on a mixed note on Wednesday amid concerns about the endgame for Brexit talks with the European Union.

The FTSE 100 edged up 0.08% to 6,555.39, while the pound was down 0.57% against the dollar at 1.3364 and 0.67% lower versus the euro at 1.1010 following a report in The Sun that Johnson is ready to call time on Brexit negotiations if the EU refuses to budge from its "outrageous" demands.

London's second-tier index meanwhile gave back 1.25% to 19,929.73.

A source close to Johnson told the newspaper: "It really is end game stuff now. If by close of play Monday there is no movement there’ll at least be a question about whether it’s worth carrying on. We’re not going to give in to EU demands preventing us taking back control of the rules Britons live under. It’s as simple as that."

The Prime Minister and European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, were due to talk later in the evening to try and unblock negotiations.

"Since it is December, with seasonal tailwinds and positive inflows still helping, equities might not yet suffer a reckoning, but they do look vulnerable to at least a short-term pullback, with a grey January providing the ideal excuse for a selloff," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

Also weighing on investor sentiment perhaps, the Bank for International Settlements called attention to what it appeared to believe was a disconnect between narrower credit spreads and reduced lending by banks.

"However, concerns remained about the daylight between valuations, which are still above or near their already stretched pre-pandemic levels, and economic prospects, which are still uncertain," the BIS said.

The FTSE 100 - which tends to benefit from a weaker pound as around 70% of constituents derive most of their earnings from overseas - did fare better than its European counterparts.

In equity markets, dollar earners such as British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, AstraZeneca, Diageo and GlaxoSmithKline were all on the front foot.

AstraZeneca was also boosted by an upgrade to ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley, while Vodafone was lifted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Redburn.

Software company Micro Focus surged after Goldman Sachs lifted the stock to ‘buy' and hiked the price target.

Games Workshop rallied after it declared a dividend of 60p a share as the miniature wargames maker upgraded its first-half profit forecast for the third time in three months.

On the downside, housebuilders were dented by Brexit worries, with Berkeley, Persimmon, Barratt, Taylor Wimpey and Vistry all sharply lower.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,555.39 0.08%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,929.73 -1.25%
techMARK (TASX) 4,093.18 0.24%

FTSE 100 - Risers

British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,849.00p 4.70%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,517.50p 3.44%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 3,358.00p 2.57%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,672.00p 2.26%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 348.60p 2.08%
Relx plc (REL) 1,787.50p 1.97%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 924.80p 1.94%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 1,034.00p 1.92%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,121.00p 1.82%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,486.50p 1.64%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,421.00p -7.20%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,716.00p -5.30%
DCC (DCC) 5,470.00p -5.24%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 37.33p -4.33%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,168.00p -4.05%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 631.00p -3.46%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 789.20p -3.36%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 705.80p -2.73%
British Land Company (BLND) 496.60p -2.63%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 411.55p -2.63%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Micro Focus International (MCRO) 490.30p 13.86%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 177.55p 4.63%
Contour Global (GLO) 204.00p 2.60%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 80.10p 2.13%
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 295.00p 1.72%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 2,880.00p 1.58%
Templeton Emerging Markets Inv Trust (TEM) 947.00p 1.50%
Indivior (INDV) 103.50p 1.47%
Law Debenture Corp. (LWDB) 655.00p 1.39%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 175.60p 1.39%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Polypipe Group (PLP) 497.50p -5.83%
Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 1,400.00p -5.23%
Vistry Group (VTY) 867.00p -5.19%
St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 374.50p -5.19%
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 265.00p -4.88%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,300.00p -4.87%
Beazley (BEZ) 355.20p -4.77%
Grafton Group Ut (GFTU) 846.50p -4.69%
Hays (HAS) 136.70p -4.54%
Hilton Food Group (HFG) 1,072.00p -4.48%