Johnson Matthey Share News (JMAT)

(Alliance News) - London shares were mixed at midday on Wednesday as the trade dispute between the US and China heated back up following a short-lived detente. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated that he could impose additional tariffs on Chinese imports if he wants, after promising to hold off on more duties in a trade-war truce he reached with China's Xi Jinping last month on the sidelines of the G20 summit.The US president said the two sides were still a long way from a trade deal. His remarks, hitting out at what he says is a lack of follow-through from Beijing on promises to buy more farm goods, came just as high-level talks were due to take place this week, though a face-to-face has still not been agreed.China rejected claims by Trump that it is being forced to make a trade deal because of its slowing economy, as the two sides prepare for more talks, AFP reported.Beijing and Washington have been locked in a tit-for-tat trade war that has seen the superpowers hit each other with tariffs covering more than USD360 billion in two-way trade.The FTSE 100 was 1.92 points lower, at 7,575.28 at midday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 17.16 point, or 0.1%, at 19,673.21, while the AIM All-Share was 0.1% lower at 918.96.The Cboe UK 100 index was flat at 12,841.28. The Cboe UK 250 was 0.1% higher at 17,548.05. The Cboe UK Small Companies was down 0.1% at 11,173.40.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 index in Paris and DAX 30 in Frankfurt were flat in early afternoon trade."European markets are taking a somewhat more downbeat tone today, as the sharp deterioration in European currencies that boosted local equity markets slows to a halt. Donald Trump has also had a hand in this stock slowdown, with the president stating that US-China trade talks still have 'a long way to go'. There are precious few signs that any progress is being made," said IG Group's Josh Mahony. In the FTSE 100, Burberry was the best performer, up 3.3% continuing its upward trajectory after reporting positive first-quarter results on Tuesday. The stock had ended 14% higher on Tuesday.At the other end of the large cap index, Johnson Matthey was the worst performer, down 3.9% after the speciality chemicals firm said growth in its Clean Air division was offset by lower and flat sales elsewhere during the first quarter of the financial year. During the period to June 30, Johnson Matthey reported "robust sales growth" from its Clean Air division, though the company expects full-year operating profits in this part of the business to be below last year due to "higher than anticipated" short-term costs. The Clean Air unit reported underlying operating profit of GBP393.0 million in the financial year that ended March 31. Sales in its Efficient Natural Resources and Health divisions fell in the first quarter. The company expects growth in both sectors for the full year, though it said Health sales will be "more weighted to the second half" of the financial year. Fresnillo was down 1.5% after the Mexican gold miner cut production guidance as it warned 2019 will continue to be a difficult year. The miner now sees 2019 gold output at between 880,000 and 910,000 ounces from 910,000 to 930,000 ounces before, and silver guidance has been lowered to 55 million to 58 million ounces from 58 million to 61 million ounces before. Fresnillo's second-quarter gold production rose 4.8% on the prior quarter to 221,307 ounces, but fell 5.4% on the year before, with first half gold output down 7.1% year-on-year to 432,417 ounces. For silver, second quarter output rose 9.7% to 14.1 million ounces, but fell 6.0% on the year, with first half production down 10% on the year prior to 27.6 million ounces. In the FTSE 250 index, Galliford Try was the best performer, up 6.8% after the housebuilding and construction firm guided to meet annual expectations after a good performance across all divisions. Galliford expects to meet analyst pretax profit forecasts of between GBP112.7 million and GBP116.4 million, which include GBP40 million in exceptional costs. An additional GBP30 million write-down that Galliford had flagged back in May will be taken against operating costs, it said.The pound was quoted at USD1.2400 at midday, flat compared to USD1.2408 late Tuesday, after UK inflation remained unchanged in June.The consumer price index rose 2.0% on a year before in June, the same pace of increase as in May, according to the Office for National Statistics. The core inflation rate, excluding food, alcohol and energy, increased to 1.8% from 1.7% year-on-year. The UK government sets the Bank of England an inflation target of 2.0%.Fineco Bank's Alessandro Capuano said: "Today's figures chime with the Monetary Policy Committee's thinking, who are in favour of a gradual hike of interest rates. The announcement will be particularly positive and give some air to the free-falling sterling."However, the MPC is basing its forecasts on the assumption of a smooth Brexit deal. The markets on the other hand, are more realistically assuming something a lot less ordered. The likelihood of a hike at some point soon is shrouded in scepticism, while the chances of a cut remain. The fate of the pound is in the hands of the Conservative leadership election. While the result next week is likely to give some steer, which will help markets, many appear to have made up their minds already. Our own data shows that people have already started to move their money out of the pound to be held in other currencies, particularly in the last two weeks."The pound remained hit an intraday low of USD1.2382 in early trade - its lowest level in two years amid 'no-deal' Brexit fears.Conservative Party leadership race frontrunner Boris Johnson has refused to rule out suspending Parliament to force Brexit through against the will of MPs.Johnson's team is said to be looking at scheduling a Queen's speech for early November, according to Sky News. The Brexit deadline is the end of October.On Monday, Johnson said the problem with the controversial Irish backstop was "fundamental", and suggested he would not accept tweaks such as a time limit or a "unilateral escape hatch".City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta said: "The latest comments and moves by Boris Johnson are making it clear that he is serious about leaving the EU by October 31, most likely with no deal, and that he might be preparing to push back the Queen's speech which marks the reopening of Parliament after the summer recess, until November 1."Long term, the deeper problem building here is not so much will the UK leave the EU or stay but the fact that if no-deal happens it will undermine the Irish border and the agreements the UK has in place with Ireland, which could potentially threaten the whole structure of the United Kingdom."The euro stood at USD1.1214 at midday, flat against USD1.1216 at the European equities close Tuesday. In economic news from the continent, consumer price inflation in the eurozone nudged higher in June, eurostat figures showed.June's eurozone inflation rate was 1.3%, compared to 1.2% in May. The rate of inflation in the eurozone in June 2018 had been 2.0%.EU annual inflation for June this year was 1.6%, the same as May's figure, but well below the 2.1% recorded in June 2018.Stocks in New York were set for a higher open on Wednesday, following a lower close on Tuesday. The DJIA was called up 0.1%, the S&P 500 index up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.2%.Ahead in the US earnings calendar, lender Bank of America will report earnings before the market open in New York. In addition, streaming services provider Netflix will become the first 'Faang' stock to deliver its second-quarter financial results after the market close Wednesday.Faang refers to the quintet of tech giants Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet's Google. 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