London close: FTSE scrapes along as PM takes her Brexit show to Brussels

May's hopes of boosting her bargaining power at the Brexit table were dealt a humiliating blow in the UK general election. She has embarrassingly yet to form a government with the DUP. The EU already sees her as a political outsider.

She was set to briefly address European leaders this evening, filling them in for the first time on her allegedly more generous plans for the rights of EU citizens in the UK.

At the close, the FTSE 100 was down -0.11% to 7,439.29, and the FTSE 250 was down -0.10% to 19,662.45. Key stocks indices in Europe were mixed, and Wall St was making minor early gains.

"Coming on a day which is largely devoid of any major market moving events, we have seen a degree of stability that has been lacking amongst recent political instability," said IG market analyst Joshua Mahony.

"Improved consumer confidence in the eurozone continues the theme of recent months, with investors seeing Europe as a high growth region for the coming years despite Brexit uncertainty," he said.

"This paves the way for an end of the week that will be heavily focused on the eurozone, with PMI surveys expected to continue the strength seen in recent months."

Against this backdrop, sterling was down a little on the dollar, and up a bit on the euro. Metals prices were up, and those for WTI and Brent crude were firmly ahead.

Oanda senior market analyst Craig Erlam said both grades of crude were buoyed by the EIA and API data, but noted that he remained aware of the potential for a further downside rush.

"While this has offered some near-term support, there's little reason at the moment to believe that oil isn't headed for further losses," he added.

On the macroeconomic front, the latest CBI industrial trends survey showed UK manufacturing was bouncing back, as the headline total orders balance came in much higher than forecast.

The latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders revealed UK mortgage lending remained resilient in May, but forecasts for a revival in buy-to-let lending had proved wrong.

In corporate news, precious metals miners Fresnillo, Randgold Resources and Hochschild racked up healthy gains as gold prices advanced.

Carnival has reported a drop in first-half net income before tax to $737m, from $750. Total revenues was $7.74bn, up from $7.36bn. It issued an upbeat outlooking comment.

Royal Mail said, following media speculation, it was in discussions regarding the possible sale of part of its Mount Pleasant site. The talks were ongoing and there was no certainty as to when or whether any transaction will be agreed.

Reckitt Benckiser has priced an offering of $7.75bn aggregate principal senior notes in four tranches. Net proceeds would be used to refinance certain debt facilities incurred to finance the acquisition of Mead Johnson Nutrition Company.

Standard Life fell but Aberdeen Asset Management nudged up after their £3.8bn proposed merger was cleared by the Competition and Markets Authority.

United Utilities and Experian retreated as their stock went ex-dividend.

Shire said the European Medicines Agency has validated the marketing authorisation application for Veyvondi for the treatment on von Willebrand disease.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,439.29 -0.11%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,662.45 -0.10%
techMARK (TASX) 3,641.41 0.78%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Provident Financial (PFG) 2,455.00p 3.98%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,626.00p 3.72%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,722.00p 2.32%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 335.00p 2.23%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 5,508.00p 2.00%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,080.00p 1.22%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 774.50p 1.18%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,585.50p 1.09%
SSE (SSE) 1,501.00p 0.94%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,780.00p 0.92%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

United Utilities Group (UU.) 898.50p -4.21%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 240.80p -2.79%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,126.00p -2.17%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,938.00p -2.13%
Mondi (MNDI) 2,061.00p -2.09%
BAE Systems (BA.) 662.50p -2.07%
Royal Mail (RMG) 429.80p -2.03%
Barclays (BARC) 196.10p -2.02%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 617.50p -1.75%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,017.00p -1.74%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Evraz (EVR) 189.60p 8.03%
Aveva Group (AVV) 2,073.00p 5.07%
AA (AA.) 222.10p 5.06%
Rotork (ROR) 242.00p 3.51%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 462.40p 3.47%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 952.00p 3.09%
BTG (BTG) 712.00p 2.59%
Indivior (INDV) 333.60p 2.21%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 275.50p 2.15%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,399.00p 2.12%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 397.40p -4.40%
Aldermore Group (ALD) 217.20p -3.81%
Paragon Group Of Companies (PAG) 426.50p -3.57%
PayPoint (PAY) 947.00p -3.47%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,532.00p -3.17%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 215.40p -3.10%
Sirius Minerals (SXX) 32.75p -2.96%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 89.70p -2.82%
Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 2,020.00p -2.42%
Sanne Group (SNN) 631.00p -2.40%