FTSE edges lower ahead of U.S. healthcare vote; Smiths Group jumps

By Kit Rees

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top share index dipped on Friday ahead of a delayed U.S. vote on a key healthcare bill, though gains among Smiths Group (L:SMIN) and Provident Financial (L:PFG) capped losses.

The vote has been seen by financial markets as a test of President Donald Trump's ability to work with Congress to deliver on his other priorities such as tax cuts and infrastructure spending, the promise of which have boosted shares since his election.

The blue chip FTSE 100 (FTSE) index was down 0.1 percent at 7,334.50 points by 1007 GMT, slightly outperforming a broader decline among European indexes.

The FTSE 100 was set to post its biggest weekly decline in two months.

Engineering firm Smiths Group (L:SMIN) was the top gainer, rising 3.3 percent and hitting a record high after posting higher first-half profit and maintaining its full-year outlook.

"Profits are almost 12% above our forecast (helped by R&D capitalisation) and guidance remains for a stronger 2H17. It is still arguably early days," Sandy Morris, equity analyst at Jefferies, said.

Shares in Provident Financial (L:PFG) were also among top gainers, up almost 2 percent after RBC raised its rating on the stock to "outperform" from "sector perform", citing the likelihood of consensus upgrades on expected increases in forward forecasts as well as "sector-leading" capital returns.

Overall gains were muted among blue chips as caution set in ahead of the vote on Trump's healthcare bill.

Trump and his fellow Republicans have pledged to scrap Obamacare, but have failed to close the deal on time for the planned Thursday vote.

"This is the first real hurdle (Trump) faces, and any resistance could suggest that (he) would face similar resistance to other policies down the road," Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, said.

"The current rally has gone so far on promises, the markets are starting to ask for a lot more proof."

So far the FTSE 100 has gained more than 7 percent since Trump won the U.S. presidential election, with stocks driven by a global reflation trade on hopes of increased fiscal spending and tax reforms.

Oil stocks (FTNMX0530) were the biggest weights among the large caps, with BP (L:BP) and Royal Dutch Shell (L:RDSa) down 0.7 percent and 0.3 percent respectively.

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Outside of the blue chips, shares in Restaurant Group (L:RTN) declined 1.4 percent after Berenberg cut its rating on the Frankie and Benny's operator to "sell" from "hold", saying that it is difficult to have confidence that management's strategy will lead to a strong recovery.