London close: Stocks break into the green ahead of G20 weekend
London stocks had turned green by the close on Thursday, as investors kept their breath held ahead of the G20 meeting in Japan, where Donald Trump and Xi Jinping were set to meet.
The FTSE 100 finished up 0.31% at 7,425.63, while sterling was 0.22% stronger against both the US dollar and the euro at USD 1.2702 and €1.1169, respectively.
Investors had spent the early part of the session mulling over a report from the South China Morning Post, which said that the US and China had agreed to a tentative truce before the G20 summit.
It cited sources as saying that details of the agreement were being laid out in press releases ahead of the meeting between Xi and Trump.
Meanwhile, a Wall Street Journal report suggested that China had insisted that the US lift its Huawei ban as part of a trade truce.
“It's clear that investors are a little cautious when it comes to this meeting, given how talks collapsed previously and the fighting talk we've since seen from both sides,” said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam earlier.
"Trump appeared very optimistic as he headed off to Osaka while warning that he's more than happy to impose tariffs if talks fail.”
Erlam said that Trump's dual role as both good cop and a bad cop had become a “common feature” of such occasions, which meant the market was not reading too much into it.
“From a markets perspective, a complete breakdown may spur some near-term weakness but with central banks waiting in the wings and prepared to cut rates, they may continue to be well supported.”
In equity markets, B&Q and Castorama owner Kingfisher was up 0.28% as it appointed Thierry Garnier - the chief executive officer of Carrefour Asia - as its new CEO.
Vodafone was also in the green by 0.51%, following a Reuters report a day earlier that the company is set to secure EU antitrust approval for its $22bn bid for Liberty Global's cable networks in Germany and central Europe.
Shares in Serco rallied 0.84% after the outsourcer said 2019 revenue is expected to be at the top end of its guidance range of £2.9bn to £3bn, thanks in part to strong order intake.
Greene King shares fizzed 1.05% higher as the pub operator's full-year profit came in ahead of expectations, although revenue was a small miss.
Hiscox reversed earlier losses and closed up 0.95%, after it announced the retirement of chief underwriting officer Richard Watson.
Rightmove remained below the waterline, however, falling 0.09% after a downgrade to 'sell' at UBS, while Senior managed to add 4.25% even after a downgrade to 'equal weight' at Barclays.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,425.63 0.31%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,462.10 0.76%
techMARK (TASX) 3,653.48 0.52%
FTSE 100 - Risers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 476.90p 4.97%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,726.00p 4.19%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,862.00p 4.08%
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 5,928.00p 4.00%
Glencore (GLEN) 273.35p 3.58%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,999.18p 3.07%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 195.95p 2.38%
British Land Company (BLND) 538.40p 2.36%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 772.40p 2.22%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 294.60p 2.11%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,855.00p -2.28%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,079.00p -1.80%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,502.00p -1.43%
BT Group (BT.A) 196.46p -1.15%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 5,172.00p -1.09%
Next (NXT) 5,526.00p -1.00%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 782.60p -0.86%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,382.00p -0.79%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 586.40p -0.78%
Croda International (CRDA) 5,105.00p -0.58%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Merlin Entertainments (MERL) 449.10p 13.70%
Senior (SNR) 216.60p 4.25%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 131.80p 4.19%
AJ Bell (AJB) 401.00p 3.89%
UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (UDG) 794.50p 3.70%
Playtech (PTEC) 426.60p 3.54%
BBA Aviation (BBA) 282.20p 3.45%
Future (FUTR) 969.00p 3.42%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,409.00p 3.27%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 593.00p 3.13%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
PayPoint (PAY) 970.00p -5.09%
Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) 179.80p -4.46%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 430.00p -4.17%
Vivo Energy (VVO) 132.60p -3.21%
Amigo Holdings (AMGO) 198.00p -2.69%
Premier Oil (PMO) 76.90p -2.61%
Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) 56.00p -2.61%
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 216.60p -2.43%
Grafton Group Units (GFTU) 803.50p -2.30%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,274.50p -2.15%