London midday: Stocks maintain small gains amid Iran-US tensions, ahead of G20

London stocks were still just a touch higher by midday on Monday amid lingering tensions between the US and Iran, and as investors eyed this week's G20 meeting.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 7,413.21, while the pound was flat against the dollar at 1.2739 and 0.2% lower versus the euro at 1.1185.

Relations between the US and Iran were very much in focus after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that "significant" sanctions on Iran would be announced on Monday.

In addition, market participants were looking ahead to the upcoming G20 meeting this week, which will bring the Sino-US trade war back into the spotlight.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, pointed out that potential catalysts are not scheduled until Friday, when the G20 summit is held.

"All the attention will be on Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and whether they can dial down the mood music on trade which of late has been set at death metal levels," he said. "The outcome could help set the tone for the markets over the remainder of the summer."

Corporate news was scarce, but Admiral was the standout gainer on the FTSE 100 after a double upgrade to 'overweight' from 'underweight' at Barclays. Hastings was also on the front foot as Barclays reiterated its 'overweight' rating.

"Our analysis suggests insurance prices have reached an inflection point in 2Q 2019, with April-May prices up 4% - a trend that we believe will only be recorded by the wider market when the mainstream quarterly indices are published in the second half of July," it said. "We see this turn as a positive for Hastings and Admiral, given their share prices have historically been highly correlated to movements in premiums."

Carnival fell, however, as Barclays downgraded its recommendation on shares of the cruise operator to 'equalweight', while Dixons Carphone was under the cosh yet again following a profit warning last week.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,413.21 0.08%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,318.73 -0.03%
techMARK (TASX) 3,617.67 0.31%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Admiral Group (ADM) 2,192.00p 3.79%
Halma (HLMA) 2,070.00p 3.09%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 2,059.50p 2.87%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 401.70p 1.90%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,140.00p 1.81%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,882.50p 1.76%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 2,201.00p 1.66%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,812.50p 1.65%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,654.00p 1.62%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 9,252.85p 1.57%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 188.80p -3.60%
Carnival (CCL) 3,362.00p -3.53%
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 5,718.00p -2.49%
Kingfisher (KGF) 202.68p -2.46%
Tesco (TSCO) 230.88p -2.46%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 345.00p -2.38%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 713.60p -2.06%
BT Group (BT.A) 197.28p -2.02%
Centrica (CNA) 87.44p -1.86%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 206.20p -1.72%

FTSE 250 - Risers

PZ Cussons (PZC) 220.72p 3.87%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 391.00p 3.60%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 121.00p 3.60%
Sirius Minerals (SXX) 13.95p 3.56%
Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) 58.50p 3.54%
Renishaw (RSW) 4,042.00p 3.06%
Greggs (GRG) 2,298.00p 2.77%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 289.00p 2.66%
Contour Global (GLO) 180.60p 2.61%
SSP Group (SSPG) 686.00p 2.39%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Dixons Carphone (DC.) 104.10p -6.09%
PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,790.00p -4.79%
Drax Group (DRX) 281.20p -3.70%
Amigo Holdings (AMGO) 225.00p -2.81%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 658.00p -2.66%
Elementis (ELM) 140.33p -2.62%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 572.00p -2.39%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 956.33p -2.32%
Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 1,569.00p -2.18%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,480.00p -2.15%