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LONDON (Alliance News) - Stocks in London were higher on Tuesday with the FTSE 100 benefiting from weakness in the pound, leaving the flagship index on track to close at its highest level so far this year. The FTSE 100 index was up 0.4%, or 29.18 points at 7,466.05. The FTSE 250 was up 0.3%, or 67.97 points, at 19,875.06, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.1%, or 0.52 points, at 948.33.The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.4% at 12,660.21. The Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 17,804.80, and the Cboe UK Small Companies was up 0.1% at 11,388.88."The FTSE 100 should today close at a record high for 2019 if it can sustain the momentum seen in early trading on Tuesday. Propping up the index are various blue chip companies which have large US dollar earnings including InterContinental Hotels, Ashtead and Antofagasta as the dollar has increased against the pound," commented Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.IHG, Ashtead and Antofagasta were up 1.6%, 0.8% and 1.3% respectively.At the other end of the large cap index, Rio Tinto was down 0.2% after the Anglo-Australian miner lowered its annual iron ore production guidance, as its operations were hit by cyclone Veronica.The company's Pilbara operations located in western Australia recorded a 9% year-on-year decline in iron ore production to 76.0 million tonnes for the three months to March-end, 64.1 million of which was net to Rio Tinto. As a result, iron ore shipments decreased by 14% to 69.1 million tonnes, with 58.2 million tonnes net to Rio Tinto.The FTSE 100-listed miner explained that the production was impacted by a fire at Cape Lambert A in January and significant disruptions caused primarily by tropical cyclone Veronica in March.Looking ahead, Rio Tinto now expects its Pilbara shipments in 2019 to be between 333 million and 343 million tonnes as the damage to the port from tropical cyclone Veronica is expected to result in ongoing disruption to shipments. Previously, the company guided its annual production at the lower end of the range of 338 million and 350 million tonnes, on a 100% basis.In the FTSE 250, Card Factory was the best performer, up 6.6% after the greeting card retailer said it expects to declare a special dividend at the time of the interim results.However, Card Factory reported a drop in its annual profit against a challenging UK retail sector backdrop. For the year ended January 31, the retailer posted pretax profit of GBP66.6 million, 8.3% lower from GBP72.6 million a year ago. Revenue meanwhile increased 3.3% year-on-year to GBP436.0 million from GBP422.1 million, driven by a strong online sales performance, up 56%. Like-for-like sales dipped 0.1% during the year, due to widespread high street footfall decline, the company explained. A year ago, they had accelerated 2.9%. Card Factory stores saw like-for-like down 0.5%, with Getting Personal, the company personalised card offering, down 8.4% due to heavy discounting and promotional activity. The company maintained its ordinary dividend at 9.3 pence per share, flat year-on-year after proposing a 6.4p final payout. JD Sports Fashion was up 4.8% after the sportswear retailer reported stellar annual results against a struggling UK retail sector backdrop. For the year ended February 2, JD posted pretax profit of GBP339.9 million, up 15% from GBP294.5 million a year ago. Revenue jumped 49% year-on-year to GBP4.72 billion from GBP3.16 billion, helped by contribution of Finish Line acquisition in the US. As a result of the strong set of results, the retailer increased its total dividend by 5% to 1.71 pence per share from 1.63p a year ago. It proposed a final dividend of 1.44p, up from 1.37p in the comparative year ago period. Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at CityIndex, said: "JD Sports has beaten its own profit guidance with yet another standout performance that cements its status as a high-street star.""Sales haven't grown at the expense of margins, indicating management is still applying tight price discipline despite the harsher retailing environment. The big question, though, is whether management can keep the good times rolling."At the other end of the FTSE 250, Galliford Try saw GBP147 million wiped off its total market value after the housebuilder and construction firm said it will scale back its Construction business which will dent profit for the current year. Its market capitalisation on Monday stood at GBP808 million.The stock was down 18%, the worst midcap performer. The company is undertaking a strategic review of its Galliford Try and Morrison Construction businesses, which will lead to a reduction in size of the unit. The company said the unit will instead focus on its "key strengths" where it has a "track record of success". However, the company expects the review to reduce profitability in the current year reflecting a "reassessment of positions" in legacy and current contracts and the effect of some recent adverse settlements alongside restructuring costs.As such, the company said it will report pretax profit, after taking exceptional items into account, for the year ending June 30 of between GBP30 million to GBP40 million lower than the consensus of analysts.For the financial year, analysts forecast pretax profit of GBP156 million. Last year, the company posted pretax profit of GBP143.7 million.Peel Hunt said it factored in a "negative value" for the construction division given the increased uncertainty and performance of the business, as the broker cut the stock to Hold from Buy. In Paris the CAC 40 was flat, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was up 0.6%. The pound was quoted at USD1.3075 at midday, compared to USD1.3109 at the London equities close Monday. On the economic front, the headline UK unemployment rate remained at multi-year lows in the three months to February, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday.The unemployment rate held steady at 3.9% in the three months to February, the lowest rate since 1975, the ONS said. The figure matched analysts' estimates.Including bonuses, average weekly earnings for employees in the UK increased 3.5% in the month of February, unchanged on the previous month.Excluding bonuses, average weekly earnings for employees in the UK increased by 3.4% in February, dipping from an upwardly revised figure of 3.5% in the previous month. Stocks in New York were set for a higher open amid positive earnings releases from lender Bank of America and asset management giant BlackRock. The DJIA was called up 0.4%, the S&P 500 index up 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.6%.US bank earnings will be under scrutiny amid concerns about the overall health of the global economy and fears the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this year. On Monday, Goldman Sachs reported its net income fell 20% during the first quarter compared with the first quarter last year.Already out, asset management giant BlackRock reported a profit for first quarter that decreased from the same period last year.The company's profit totaled USD1.05 billion, or USD6.61 per share. This compares with USD1.09 billion, or USD6.68 per share, in last year's first quarter.Bank of America reported earnings for its first-quarter advanced from the same period last year.The company's profit came in at USD6.87 billion, or USD0.70 per share. This compares with USD6.49 billion, or USD0.62 per share, in last year's first quarter.Analysts had expected the company to earn USD0.65 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.Ahead in the US earnings calendar, on-demand video streaming provider Netflix is scheduled to report first-quarter financial results Tuesday after the closing bell. Investors will be looking to see how Netflix plans to counteract the threat posed by entertainment giant Walt Disney, which last week announced its own streaming platform, Disney+, set to launch in November. The subscription for Disney+, priced at USD7 a month, will cost around half as much as the the most popular plan offered by Netflix.