London close: Stocks slightly higher as Johnson heads to crunch dinner

London stocks closed marginally higher on Wednesday, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson headed to Brussels to discuss Brexit over dinner with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The FTSE 100 ended the session up 0.08% at 6,564.29, and the FTSE 250 was ahead 0.07% at 19,883.89.

Sterling was in positive territory too, last gaining 0.29% on the dollar to $1.3394, and advancing 0.5% against the euro to €1.1089.

“The future trading relationship between the UK and the EU remains in focus and even though the situation is not looking overly optimistic at the moment, stock markets in Europe are a little higher,” said CMC Markets analyst David Madden.

“Boris Johnson will have dinner this evening with Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the EU Commission, and that has been the talk of the town today.

“The individuals haven’t sat down yet and already there has been chatter that a deal is not expected to be announced at tomorrow’s EU summit.”

Madden noted that on Tuesday, Westminster removed the controversial components from the Internal Markets Bill, which was received well by politicians and traders as it should help with potential problems around the Northern Irish border.

“That being said, the Irish government is not too hopeful of a deal being secured, and the French hold a similar position.”

IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp said trading in recent days had seen the pound recover some ground against the euro on hopes some kind of agreement could be found.

“A weary sense of futility can be felt among traders, who are by now used to the endless cycle of hope and despair that has accompanied these talks," Beauchamp said.

In equity markets, British Airways and Iberia parent IAG closed up 1.86%, and engine maker Rolls-Royce advanced 2.69%.

Cineworld, WH Smith and easyJet also rose, by 2.52%, 3.09% and 2.2% respectively, amid vaccine optimism.

Tesco gained 0.89% after the supermarket retailer said it has now met all the conditions for the sale of its businesses in Thailand and Malaysia, with the disposal is expected to complete later this month.

Vistry advanced 1.33% after the housebuilder said it would consider reinstating a "modest" final dividend and reiterated expectations for full-year pre-tax profits to be at the top end of a £130m to £140m range.

Sector peers were mixed, with Berkeley Group up 1.07% and Taylor Wimpey ahead 1.72%, while Persimmon reversed earlier gains to close down 0.59%.

Software company Sage pushed up 0.99% after agreeing to sell its Polish business to funds advised by Mid Europa Partners for around £66m.

Kitchen and joinery products supplier Howden Joinery surged 4.52% after it said full-year pre-tax profit was set to be around 10% above the top end of current analyst forecasts following continued strong trading.

Cairn Energy was boosted 1.38% by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Berenberg, while Royal Mail was 2.32% higher after being reinstated at ‘buy’ at HSBC.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,564.29 0.08%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,883.89 0.07%
techMARK (TASX) 4,089.48 0.41%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 8,066.00p 7.09%
Kingfisher (KGF) 273.90p 3.95%
DCC (DCC) 5,626.00p 3.50%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,322.00p 3.20%
BT Group (BT.A) 138.30p 3.13%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 130.20p 3.13%
National Grid (NG.) 899.40p 3.12%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 222.90p 3.10%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 165.30p 2.54%
Next (NXT) 6,864.00p 2.54%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

CRH (CRH) 2,990.00p -3.36%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,131.50p -2.12%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,665.50p -2.03%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 3,380.00p -2.03%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,248.00p -1.96%
3i Group (III) 1,140.00p -1.77%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 709.60p -1.58%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,012.00p -1.50%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,490.00p -1.39%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,377.00p -1.23%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 8,066.00p 7.09%
AO World (AO.) 377.00p 6.80%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 394.40p 6.36%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 671.20p 4.52%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 143.00p 4.27%
Future (FUTR) 1,806.00p 3.67%
Coats Group (COA) 72.40p 3.58%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 63.18p 3.57%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,916.00p 3.46%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,640.00p 3.27%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Polypipe Group (PLP) 476.00p -3.35%
Rank Group (RNK) 150.00p -3.23%
SSP Group (SSPG) 337.00p -3.22%
ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 918.00p -3.16%
Essentra (ESNT) 312.80p -3.04%
Greggs (GRG) 1,703.00p -3.02%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 2,650.00p -2.93%
Indivior (INDV) 103.50p -2.82%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 907.00p -2.47%
Herald Investment Trust (HRI) 1,996.00p -2.40%