(Alliance News) - With US futures indicating a Wall Street rebound on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 continued to trade in the green at midday, also aided by a weaker pound.
The index of London large-cap stocks was up 49.42 points, or 0.8%, at 5,979.72 midday Wednesday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was down 105.22 points, or 0.6%, at 17,519.96. The AIM All-Share index was down 0.5% at 948.40.
The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.9% at 595.49. The Cboe 250 was down 0.8% at 14,952.54, and the Cboe Small Companies down 0.1% at 9,405.43.
"European markets appear to have stabilised, rebounding strongly after yesterday's slide in US markets, and a weak Asia session," commented Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.5% while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was 0.9% higher Wednesday afternoon.
Hewson added: "The weakness in sterling appears to be helping the US dollar earners on the FTSE 100 in early trading with the likes of BP and Royal Dutch Shell among the early gainers, also helped by a firmer oil price, along with the likes of Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser and Ashtead."
Sterling was quoted at USD1.2937 midday Wednesday, lower than USD1.3030 at the London equities close on Tuesday. A week ago, the pound was trading around the USD1.34 mark.
Controversial legislation which would override elements of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal with Brussels and breach international law will be published on Wednesday.
Downing Street had insisted changes in the Internal Market Bill were simply "limited clarifications" to protect the Northern Ireland peace process if they failed to secure a free trade deal with the EU. But Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis provoked a furious reaction when he confirmed to MPs on Tuesday that the legislation would breach international law in a "very specific and limited way".
The Bill, which will be tabled on Wednesday afternoon, is intended to ensure Northern Ireland can continue to enjoy unfettered access to markets in the rest of the UK.
Meanwhile, the latest round of talks on a post-Brexit trade deal continue in London between the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, and the UK's David Frost.
Dollar-exposed stocks were higher in London at midday. Oil major BP was up 2.7% and peer Royal Dutch Shell's A and B shares both up 2.8%. Equipment rental firm Ashtead was the top blue-chip performer, up 4.0%.
The euro traded at USD1.1761 midday Wednesday, down from USD1.1796 late Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at USD106.11, up from JPY105.94.
Gold was priced at USD1,925.20 an ounce on Wednesday, flat on USD1,926.32 on Tuesday. Brent oil was trading at USD40.33 a barrel, higher than USD39.54 late Tuesday.
Wall Street is called for a brighter start on Wednesday after the previous session's sell-off. The Dow Jones is called up 0.6%, the S&P 500 up 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.9%.
Tuesday's slide in New York, which hit tech stocks the hardest, saw the Nasdaq index slump 4.1%.
Back in London, leisure stocks were knocked after UK government plans to reduce the legal limit on social gatherings to six from thirty in England.
Pub firm JD Wetherspoon was down 8.0%, while cinema chain operator Cineworld fell 4.9%, and Wagamama owner Restaurant Group slipped 5.5%.
The prime minister will announce the change in the law after the number of daily positive Covid-19 cases in the UK rose to almost 3,000, and the new rule will come into force on Monday. It will apply to gatherings indoors and outdoors – including private homes, as well as parks, pubs and restaurants.
The new rules banning social gatherings of more than six people are "absolutely vital to protect life", the Health Secretary Matt Hancock said. He also said that the pause in AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine trial was "not necessarily a setback".
Clinical trials of one of the most advanced experimental Covid-19 vaccines, which is being developed by pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca and Oxford University, were "paused" Tuesday after a volunteer developed an unexplained illness.
A spokesperson for the AstraZeneca vaccine said in a statement Tuesday that "we voluntarily paused vaccination to allow review of safety data by an independent committee.
"This is a routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated, ensuring we maintain the integrity of the trials."
The company said that in large trials, illnesses will sometimes happen by chance but must be reviewed independently. AstraZeneca didn't offer further details, but medical news site Stat News, which first reported the volunteer's illness, quoted a source saying it had involved a "serious adverse reaction" to the vaccine.
AstraZeneca shares were down 1.4% at midday.
Elsewhere in London, Ryanair shares were down 2.3% at midday after the Irish airline reduced its annual passenger target to 50 million, Chief Executive Michael O'Leary told Reuters in an interview.
Ryanair in July had guided to 60 million passengers in its current financial year, ending in March. In the 2020 financial year, Ryanair carried 149 million passengers.
O'Leary said Ryanair is now guiding for 50 million passengers for the full year to the end of March, though added that "at the moment the way governments are handling it the risk is to the downside".
The CEO told Reuters that fares will also be "aggressively down", and he thinks winter of 2020 "will essentially be a write-off".
Other UK airlines also were lower at midday, with easyJet down 5.1% and Jet2 owner Dart down 3.0%.
By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com
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