FTSE climbs ahead of Sino-U.S. trade deal
Reuters
Published Jan 14, 2020 17:09
By Shashwat Awasthi and Muvija M
(Reuters) - London's main index ended a choppy Tuesday session with slight gains, as investors looked towards the signing of the Phase 1 U.S.-China trade deal, while betting firms lost ground after Britain banned consumers from using credit cards to gamble.
The FTSE 100 (FTSE) closed 0.1% higher. The FTSE 250 (FTMC) rose 0.2%, driven by a 9.2% jump in miniature wargame maker Games Workshop (L:GAW) after reporting record profit and sales.
Ahead of the interim trade deal on Wednesday, a source said China would ramp up purchases of cars, aircraft and energy supplies from the United States. Separately, Washington said Beijing should no longer be designated a currency manipulator.
"A little bit of risk-off across the board ... as investors look towards next steps in terms of U.S.-China trade. There's no one catalyst apart from general profit-taking ahead of the start of earnings season in the U.S.," CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said.
Homebuilder Taylor Wimpey (L:TW) was the second-best performer on the FTSE 100, rising 4% after a trading update showed that its order book surged 22% in 2019, aided by the government's Help to Buy scheme.
Meanwhile, gambling firms Flutter Entertainment (L:FLTRF) and William Hill (L:WMH) gave up 1.2% and 2.5%, respectively, on Britain's new rule designed to prevent consumers from building up too much debt.
Other industry players GVC (L:GVC) and 888 (L:888) recouped earlier losses to end marginally higher.
Shares of Elementis (L:ELM) slid 14.7% to the bottom of the midcaps after the speciality chemicals company warned of a lower 2019 profit. The stock recorded its steepest one-day fall since mid-2015.
Another significant faller was gold miner Centamin (L:CEY), which lost 7% on its worst day since early December after Canadian company Endeavour Mining (TO:EDV) scrapped plans to take over the London group.
AIM-listed online fashion retailer Boohoo (L:BOOH) advanced 5% to a record high after reporting robust performance in its Christmas trading period and hiking its full-year forecast.
Get The App
"Boohoo continues to defy the broader gloom on the High Street thanks to its appeal among younger shoppers, its tight marketing and laser focus around celebs and social media," Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson said.
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.