(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 lagged behind counterparts in mainland Europe on Tuesday, thanks to share price falls for oil major BP and utility stocks.
The pound, meanwhile, firmed on the prospect of a UK general election in December.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 25.02 points, or 0.3%, at 7,306.26. The FTSE 250 ended down 41.83 points, or 0.2%, at 20,168.33, and the AIM All-Share closed down 2.00 points, or 0.2%, at 890.31.
The Cboe UK 100 ended flat at 12,440.80, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 0.1% at 18,133.24, and the Cboe Small Companies ended flat at 11,253.70.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended up 0.2%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt closed flat.
"The FTSE lagged behind its European counterparts, thanks in part to disappointing numbers from BP and the Brexit boosted pound," said Fiona Cincotta at City Index.
The UK is on course for a December general election after Labour announced its conditions to back the move had been met.
Jeremy Corbyn told his shadow cabinet Labour would launch the "most ambitious and radical campaign for real change our country has ever seen" now a no-deal Brexit was "off the table".
Proposals have emerged from the opposition benches as they indicated their support for a snap election before Christmas, although any amendments approved by MPs are expected to derail the legislation required to trigger it. The Labour leader said all 16-year-olds should have the right to vote, a call echoed by the SNP which also supports extending the franchise to include EU nationals living in the UK.
This all comes as the government bids to convince MPs to back a poll on December 12.
"The pound sees this [a general election] as a step closer to certainty. Boris Johnson is current favourite in the polls. Should he win the snap election, strengthening his mandate for Brexit, his deal could be pushed through Parliament, with Brexit signed sealed and delivered by January 31," said City Index's Cincotta.
The pound was quoted at USD1.2887 at the London equities close Tuesday, higher compared to USD1.2861 at the close on Monday.
While the pound firmed on the prospect of a general election, utility stocks declined.
"The forthcoming weeks are likely to see a whole raft of radical measures suggested by Labour, and while some may deem the more extreme measures fanciful, the nationalisation of mail, energy, and water firms have been a constant theme for Corbyn," said Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG.
British Gas owner Centrica closed down 2.9%, and fellow energy provider SSE down 2.3%.
Meanwhile, the euro stood at USD1.1108 at the European equities close Tuesday, against USD1.1095 at the same time on Monday.
Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY108.91, broadly flat compared to JPY108.99 late Monday.
Stocks in New York were mixed at the London equities close, with the Dow Jones flat, the S&P 500 index up 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.4%.
American consumers were less optimistic about the US economy in the near term in October as confidence slipped for the third consecutive month, according to a survey published Tuesday.
However, despite the ongoing trade conflict with China, the key confidence measure remains at a fairly high level and remains healthy going into the year-end shopping season, according to the Conference Board.
The consumer confidence index dipped to 125.9 in October from 126.3 in September, according to the survey. That reflected a drop in expectations for the coming six months, and confounded analysts who had expected an increase.
Oxford Economics commented: "Despite the moderate pullback over the past two months, the confidence reading remains near a cycle high. A still-strong labor market and near-record highs in equity prices will continue to bolster consumers' confidence levels."
In London, shares in BP ended the session 4.0% lower after revealing a third quarter loss.
BP posted a replacement cost loss for the third quarter of 2019 of USD351 million, after a USD1.78 billion profit in the second quarter and USD3.09 billion in the third quarter last year. On an underlying basis, BP's RC profit fell to USD2.25 billion, down 20% on a quarterly basis and 41% year-on-year.
The oil major was hit by "significantly" lower earnings in the Upstream division due to lower commodity prices, maintenance work, and the impact of poor weather in the Gulf of Mexico. Downstream, BP said, had a "strong" quarter operationally.
Peer Royal Shell Dutch reports its own third quarter figures on Thursday, with 'A' shares ending flat and 'B' shares up 0.1% following BP's update.
Brent oil was quoted at USD61.86 a barrel at the London equities close Tuesday from USD61.26 late Monday.
In other commodities, gold was quoted at USD1,488.37 an ounce at the London equities close Tuesday against USD1,490.38 at the close on Monday.
Turning back to the London Stock Exchange, Royal Bank of Scotland closed 2.4% lower after UBS cut the lender to Neutral from Buy.
Plus500 was at the top of the FTSE 250 ended up 5.3% after reporting "good revenue growth" in the third quarter of 2019.
For the three months ended September 30, the online contracts-for-difference trading service reported revenue of USD110.6 million, 10% higher than the USD100.1 million figure posted a year before and 18% higher than the second quarter revenue figure of USD94.1 million.
Earnings before interest, depreciation, taxation, and amortisation in the third quarter climbed an impressive 39% year-on-year to USD70.1 million and the Ebitda margin widened to 63% from 50% the year before and 57% in the second quarter.
Royal Mail shed 4.6% after JPMorgan cut the postal operator to Underweight from Neutral.
Elsewhere on the LSE, Bloomsbury Publishing shares slipped 3.1% after reporting a drop in interim profit.
For the six months to the end of August, the publisher generated GBP1.3 million in pretax profit, down 19% from the year before. Adjusted pretax profit, which excludes exceptional costs, was down 14% at GBP2.5 million.
Bloomsbury's revenue declined by 5.3% to GBP71.3 million from GBP75.3 million the prior year, driven mainly by a decline in revenue from the group's Children's Trade unit of 18% to GBP25.3 million. Although sales of Harry Potter titles remained strong, sales from author Sarah Maas were down by 39%, due to one paperback title being published in the period compared to two titles the year before, the firm said.
Wednesday's UK corporate calendar has Standard Chartered's third quarter results at 0415 GMT, followed by those from clothing retailer Next, packaging firm Smurfit Kappa and wounds dressings maker ConvaTec later in the morning. At noon drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline will publish its own third quarter results.
In the economic calendar on Wednesday, there is the British Retail Consortium's shop price index at 0001 GMT followed by eurozone consumer confidence at 1000 GMT and German inflation at 1300 GMT.
Later on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will announce its latest monetary policy decision at 1800 GMT, followed by a press conference with Fed Chair Powell at 1830 GMT. The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates for a third time this year, though focus will lie on the central bank's outlook.
By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com
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