(Alliance News) - Stocks edged marginally higher in London on Monday morning, following news of progress on the US and China trade war front, with attention also being paid to campaigning for the UK general election in December.
The FTSE 100 was fractionally higher, up 1.24 points, at 7,304.18.
The FTSE 250 was up 1.09 points, edging marginally higher to 20,405.49, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.1% at 893.12.
The Cboe UK 100 index was 0.1% higher at 12,379.18. The Cboe UK 250 was 0.6% higher at 18,419.58, and the Cboe UK Small Companies was up 0.1% at 11,287.90.
In European equities, the CAC 40 index in Paris was up 0.6% and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt up 0.5%.
In the FTSE 100, accounting software firm Sage Group, down 0.2%, said it will secure GBP232 million from the sale of a subsidiary to global payments company Elavon.
The disposal of Sage Pay to the US Bancorp subsidiary is subject to approval from US regulators.
"Our vision of becoming a great software-as-a-service company for customers and colleagues alike means we will continue to focus on serving small and medium-sized customers with subscription software solutions for Accounting & Financials and People & Payroll," Sage Chief Executive Steve Hare explained.
In September, the firm confirmed press reports that it was considering a sale of the division, which generated revenue of GBP41 million last year.
Aviva, down 2.3%, was at the bottom of the FTSE 100, after it said it will retain its Asian business following a review.
"Aviva has concluded that the best value for shareholders will be achieved by retaining the business," the insurer explained.
It also will retain a joint-venture in China, Aviva said.
Building materials supplier Kingspan shed 2.4% in early trade after the Irish company said a deteriorating sentiment in the UK market could impact its sales activity in the first quarter of 2020.
Kingspan reiterated its full-year guidance for 2019 of delivering trading profit of EUR490 million, which would represent year-on-year growth of roughly 10%.
The performance, which would be in line with consensus, Kingspan said, was despite "fragile reflecting an uncertain global macro backdrop".
Sales in the nine month period to September 30 were EUR3.43 billion, up 8%. In third quarter alone, sales were up 2% year-on-year.
M&A activity continued on Monday, following a busy day for the London market on Friday, which saw Amerisur Resources, Carpetright and Eddie Stobart Logistics all agreeing to purchases.
On Monday, Consort Medical, which soared 42%, was subject to an agreed takeover bid from a subsidiary of Swedish pharmaceutical firm Recipharm.
Recipharm will acquire the London-listed medical devices maker for GBP505 million, paying 1,010p for each Consort share, about a 40% premium. The deal gives the company an enterprise value of GBP627 million, including debt.
Interactive television content creator Mirada was up 45% in early trade, after the company reported it swung to an interim pretax profit of USD98,000 from last year's USD2.3 million loss.
There was also a 6.5% year-on-year increase revenue to USD5.9 million for the half-year to September 30.
Security firm Westminster Group added another 36% to its sharp gains on Friday, as it closed in on a ports contract in Ghana.
Commenting on its recent share price increases, which saw its shares end 21% higher on Friday, Westminster said discussions with Meridian Port Services, and port authorities in Ghana "made significant progress".
In UK political news, Boris Johnson will cut employers' National Insurance as part of a range of tax cuts as he seeks to get the business community back on side.
The prime minister will tell business leaders on Monday that the Tories will put an end to Brexit "uncertainty and confusion" if they are returned to power on December 12.
In a major general election pledge, the Conservative Party said a Tory government would cut business rates, launching a fundamental review at their first Budget.
The party said they will increase the employment allowance from GBP3,000 to GBP4,000, providing a cut in National Insurance of up to GBP1,000 for more than half a million businesses.
"In the UK, the election campaigning continues although neither of the two major parties is yet to release a manifesto, leaving the rest of us to feed off various reports and releases. The leaders of the two main parties will face off against each other for the first time on Tuesday, but in the absence of manifesto's what exactly will they be debating," OANDA analyst Craig Erlam said.
In the US on Friday, stocks ended in the green, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both 0.8% higher and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.7%.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed 0.5% higher on Monday. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended up 0.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed up 1.4%.
"After the S&P 500 ended last week at a new high, Asia's main stock markets have largely started the week on the front foot, supported by reports of 'constructive discussions' between US and Chinese trade negotiators in a phone call on Saturday," DAIWA Capital Markets analyst Emily Nicol said.
Top Chinese and US trade negotiators held "constructive" discussions over the phone on a preliminary trade deal between the two countries, China's commerce ministry announced in a statement on Sunday.
The long-running saga between Washington and Beijing has weighed on the global economy and spooked markets, with the two sides imposing punitive tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in two-way trade.
US President Trump announced a "phase one" trade deal last month which has yet to be signed.
Vice Premier Liu He spoke with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Saturday, and had "constructive discussion on each side's core concerns regarding the phase-one agreement", the Chinese commerce ministry said.
The two sides will "continue to maintain close communication", it added, without providing further details.
Saudi Arabia on Sunday put a value of up to USD1.71 trillion on energy behemoth Aramco in what could be the world's biggest IPO, but missed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's initial target of USD2 trillion.
Aramco said it would sell 1.5% of the company in a blockbuster initial public offering worth USD24 billion to USD25.6 billion, scaling down Saudi Arabia's initial plan to sell up to 5% of the firm.
In the US, the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index for November is published at 1400 GMT.
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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