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LONDON (Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 just about managed to close Monday's session in positive territory, while the FTSE 250 was dragged lower as gold miner Centamin dived following its annual results. Broadly, market sentiment was buoyant as the US delayed a tariff hike on Chinese goods, with President Donald Trump praising the "substantial progress" made between the world's two largest economies."This is clearly not the end of the negotiations, let alone the underlying tension between the two countries," commented Louis Kuijs at Oxford Economics. "Nonetheless, the tariff suspension and increased likelihood of a more lasting agreement should be a positive for international trade and business in both countries, as well as the global economy more generally."The FTSE 100 index closed up 5.14 points, or 0.1%, at 7,183.74. The FTSE 250 ended fell 22.61 points, or 0.1%, to 19,246.98, and the AIM All-Share closed 2.57 points higher, or 0.3%, at 912.66.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.1% at 12,196.94, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 0.3% at 17,141.40, and the Cboe Small Companies ended 0.1% lower at 11,115.65.The US was set to raise tariffs on USD200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10% to 25% on March 1.US President Donald Trump praised "substantial progress" made between the two sides recently, including on intellectual property, forced technology transfer, currency valuations and other US concerns."Assuming both sides make additional progress, we will be planning a Summit for President Xi and myself, at Mar-a-Lago, to conclude an agreement. A very good weekend for US & China!" Trump said on Twitter."As a result of these very productive talks, I will be delaying the US increase in tariffs now scheduled for March 1," Trump said.Trump also praised China for being "very helpful" on North Korea, just as he heads to Vietnam on Monday for a two-day summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.However, while the FTSE 100 ended in the green, the index trailed behind its European counterparts. In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended up 0.4%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt rose 0.5%.Weighing on London's blue-chip index was Persimmon shedding 4.6% as the housebuilder's right to sell homes under the Help to Buy incentive scheme came under scrutiny amid UK government concerns over the FTSE 100 constituent's behaviour.An extension of contracts for the scheme from April 2021 is soon to be reviewed by Housing Secretary James Brokenshire."James has become increasingly concerned by the behaviour of Persimmon in the last 12 months," a source close to the minister told the Press Association."Leasehold, build quality, their leadership seemingly not getting they're accountable to their customers, are all points that have been raised by the Secretary of State privately."Home construction peers fell on these Help to Buy worries, with Taylor Wimpey closing down 1.5% and Barratt Developments off 0.4%.Bunzl fell 3.7% after the distribution firm said annual profit increased on acquisitions, as it announced another purchase on Monday, buying US-based safety gloves manufacturer Liberty Glove & Safety for an undisclosed sum.Liberty Glove & Safety is a California-based company which sells a range of personal protection equipment, primarily gloves, to US distributors. Liberty Glove & Safety recorded USD93 million in revenue for 2018.In 2018, Bunzl's pretax profit totalled GBP424.8 million, up 3.8% from GBP409.3 million in 2017. Revenue was GBP9.08 billion, rising 5.8% from GBP8.58 billion in 2017 and 9% on constant exchange rate.Associated British Foods finished 1.6% lower after it reported a decline in first half same-store sales for its fashion clothing chain Primark and said that overall group first half earnings will be broadly in line with the comparative year-ago period.The FTSE 100-listed company attributed the 2% drop in Primark like-for-like sales for the 24 weeks to March 2 to a 3% decline in eurozone sales. For the core UK division, Primark like-for-like sales were level with last year in the first half, AB Foods said.Among the stocks ending in the green was insurer Hiscox, rising 3.2% as the firm upped its payout after beating consensus profit forecasts for 2018. Pretax profit rose to USD137.4 million in 2018 from USD39.7 million the year before. Excluding foreign currency effect, pretax profit increased to USD151.1 million from USD120.6 million.Analysts forecast pretax profit for the FTSE 100-listed insurer at USD129 million.The insurer's combined ratio strengthened to 94.9% in 2018 from 99.9% in 2017, with a reading below 100% indicating underwriting profitability. Analysts forecast a combined operating ratio of 96.4%.FTSE 250 constituent Provident Financial gained 4.0% as it voiced its disappointment at the "unsolicited and highly opportunistic" takeover offer from smaller peer Non-Standard Finance.Non-Standard Finance made an all-share offer worth GBP1.3 billion for Provident Financial on Friday. Provident said it considers the "hostile" offer an "irresponsible approach" considering Provident is recovering from a period of "substantial instability".In response to Provident's comments, Non-Standard Finance criticised the board, saying members have limited operational experience and don't understand the issues facing the business.Non-Standard Finance also pointed out that Provident Financial's decision to postpone its 2018 results announcement by two weeks to March 13 is highly unusual and delays the opportunity for shareholders to judge the company's recent performance.Non-Standard Finance shares closed down 6.8%.Centamin slumped 29% after the gold miner slashed its dividend amid a fall in profit for 2018.The miner recorded a pretax profit of USD152.7 million for 2018, down from USD207.4 million in the year-ago period. Revenue was USD603.2 million from USD675.5 million, respectively.Gold production, already reported by Centamin last month, came in at 472,418 ounces for 2018, down from 544,658 a year before, driven by lower than expected grades from both open pit and underground operations.Centamin has declared a final dividend of 3.0 cents per share, giving a total payout of 5.5 cents, down from 12.5 cents paid a year ago.Meanwhile, the pound was broadly unchanged as UK Prime Minister Theresa May admitted she will not get a Brexit deal in time for MPs to hold a "meaningful vote" this week.The prime minister, attending an EU-League of Arab States summit in Egypt, has said she will put her deal to Parliament by March 12 at the latest - just 17 days before the UK is due to leave the EU.The latest delay was greeted with anger by opposition parties who accused her of another attempt to "run down the clock" to force MPs to back her Withdrawal Agreement.A cross-party group of MPs seeking to block a no-deal break immediately confirmed they would be tabling an amendment giving the House the power to demand a delay to Brexit if an agreement is not in place by March 13.The pound was quoted at USD1.3065 at the London equities close Monday, marginally higher compared to USD1.3059 at the close on Friday.The euro stood at USD1.1348 at the European equities close Monday, firm against USD1.1340 at the same time on Friday.Stocks in New York were higher at the London equities close, with the Dow Jones up 0.7%, the S&P 500 index also 0.7% higher, and the Nasdaq Composite rising 0.9%.In commodities, Brent oil was quoted at USD64.78 a barrel at the London equities close Monday, down from USD67.10 late Friday.Gold was quoted at USD1,327.44 an ounce at the London equities close Monday, soft compared to USD1,329.84 at the close on Friday.In the economic calendar on Tuesday is Germany's Gfk consumer confidence survey for March at 0700 GMT while BBA mortgage approvals in the UK are at 0930 GMT. US housing starts are at 1330 GMT with the Redbook index at 1355 GMT. Emerging markets-focused bank Standard Chartered kicks off an early start to Tuesday's corporate updates with the release of its annual results at 0415 GMT, while later there are full-year earnings from gold miner Fresnillo, housebuilder Persimmon, builders' merchant Travis Perkins, engineer Meggitt and specialty chemicals company Croda International.