(Alliance News) - Stocks in London closed higher on the first trading day since the Christmas break, with the FTSE 250 again posting a record closing high, but a strengthening pound causing FTSE 100 to tail off towards the end of the session.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 12.66 points, or 0.2%, at 7,644.90, on Friday. The blue-chip index was as high at 7,665.08 in the morning, though it gave back a large portion of its early gains.
The FTSE 250 ended up 77.90 points, or 0.4%, at 22,058.99, again setting a new an all-time record closing high.
The index, which predominantly comprises of domestic stocks, closed at 21,981.09 on Tuesday, before traders downed tools for Christmas.
The AIM All-Share closed up 3.56 points higher, or 0.4% at 953.83 on Friday.
The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.1% at 12,942.17, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.5% at 19,946.87, and the Cboe Small Companies ended up 0.5% at 12,194.30.
In Paris the CAC 40 ended 0.1%, higher while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt up 0.3% in late trade. Markets in Germany were also closed on Christmas eve.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3092 at the London equities close, up from USD1.2951 at the equities close on Tuesday.
"The FTSE was in line to rise for the 11th straight session on Friday however the soaring pound rained on the FTSE's parade. The UK index pared gains and is heading towards the close on Friday on the flat line, even as the Santa rally showed no signs of slowing elsewhere," CityIndex analyst Fiona Cincotta said.
Elsewhere, the euro stood at USD1.1175 at the European equities close, up from USD1.1079 on Tuesday.
Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY109.47, up from JPY109.41 on Tuesday.
"The dollar is trading lower against all the major currencies and most of the emerging markets. On the week, only the yen among the G10 currencies is struggling to gain against the dollar," said Bannockburn Global Forex's Marc Chandler.
"Meanwhile, although gold is a little softer today, but is holding above USD1,500. It has gained 2.2% this week, which is its best performance since August," he continued.
The precious metal was quoted at USD1,514.27 an ounce Friday, up from USD1,489.92 at the London close on Tuesday.
Brent oil was quoted at USD68.14 a barrel, up from USD66.78 at the London equities close on Tuesday.
Internationally exposed miners were among the blue-chip firm which made gains on Friday.
"Trade sensitive stocks have rallied amid further positive signals surrounding the US – China trade deal. Heavyweight miners such as Glencore and BHP Billiton provided the biggest boost to the FTSE in early trade, gaining 2% each, buoyed by the improved outlook for China's economy, the world's largest consumer of metals," Cincotta continued.
Fresnillo closed 3.3% higher, making it the best performing FTSE 100 stock. Glencore eventually closed 1.7% higher and BHP up 1.1%.
At the other end however, was UAE-focused private healthcare company NMC Health, down 2.6%, and bottom of the pile, after it responded to the latest attack by sparring partner Muddy Waters, a US-based short-selling firm.
NMC said STH Consultant, the engineering consultant retained by NMC, provided written confirmation of the total built-up floor area of NMC Royal Women's Hospital in Abu Dhabi at 18,595 metres squared. It also made publicly available floor plans for the hospital approved by the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi.
The statement came in response to attacks on the hospital operator by Muddy Waters over its accountancy practises.
Last week, Muddy Waters highlighted a USD107.4 million investment by NMC in the redevelopment of NMC Royal Women's Hospital, previously known as Brightpoint Royal Women's Hospital. "Red flags" in this investment, it said, included the cost being USD7,700 per square metre, exceeding Muddy Waters' expectation of USD3,500 to USD4,000.
NMC has been in the wars since Tuesday last week after Muddy Waters Capital decided to short sell shares in the company over "serious doubts" regarding financial statements.
Short selling is an investment or trading strategy that speculates on the decline in a stock.
Since the initial Muddy Waters attack, NMC shares have fallen around 30%.
The UK competition watchdog is to deepen its investigation into Amazon.com's Deliveroo investment, it said on Friday.
Earlier December, the Competition & Markets Authority had said it would be looking into competition concerns. It gave the two a week to come up with some remedies to these concerns.
The CMA said Friday neither party did so, and, as a result, it has referred the investment to a phase two investigation.
Amazon, whose online store has its own food offering through Prime and Prime Now and Whole Foods Market, was in May named as the largest investor in a USD575 million fundraise by Deliveroo parent firm Roofoods.
Just Eat, also a takeaway and is itself the object of a bidding-war, ended the day 2.4%, the second best performer on the FTSE 100.
In Wall Street on Friday, Amazon was quoted 1.4% higher at the London close.
Stocks in New York where in the green at the London equities close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2%. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both 0.1% higher, ensuring the latter remains above the 9,000 level, a milestone it achieved for the first time on Thursday.
Brexit will likely come in to focus again following the end of the festive period, with the UK scheduled to leave the European Union on January 31.
The EU and Britain will struggle to seal an agreement on trade and other aspects of their future ties after Brexit next year and should consider extending the negotiations beyond 2020, a top EU official has said in an interview.
Negotiations between the remaining members and the British government on future trade, fisheries, education and transport relations can only begin after that date and must conclude by the end of 2020.
"I am very concerned about how little time we have," European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told the French business newspaper Les Echos.
"It seems to me that, on both sides, we should seriously consider whether the negotiations are feasible in such a short time."
"I think it would be reasonable to take stock in the middle of the year and, if necessary, agree on an extension to the transition period," von der Leyen said.
As the leader of the executive commission, von der Leyen heads the EU institution responsible for Brexit talks and negotiating trade deals on behalf of member countries.
Monday's local corporate calendar is thin, with just results from investor Finsbury Growth & Income Trust on the schedule.
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By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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