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LONDON (Alliance News) - London stocks were trading broadly flat at midday on Wednesday, with the pound creeping higher ahead of this evening's vote in Westminster, when members of Parliament are expected to vote against a no-deal Brexit.Standard Life Aberdeen was the best performer in the FTSE 100 as it revealed plans to end its co-chief executive structure and lifted its dividend slightly, while Avast weighed on the FTSE 250 on news its CEO plans to depart. The FTSE 100 index was 0.55 of a point higher at 7,151.70. The FTSE 250 was down 12.67 points, or 0.1%, at 19,131.29, while the AIM All-Share index was up 0.4% at 910.74.The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.1% at 12,141.17. The Cboe UK 250 was down 0.1% at 17,104.24, and the Cboe UK Small Companies 0.2% lower at 11,088.35.In mainland Europe at midday, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt were up 0.4% and flat, respectively, on Wednesday."European markets are largely flat, following on from yesterday's session which saw eurozone indices suffer and the FTSE 100 stabilise," commented Joshua Mahony, senior market Analyst at IG.Meanwhile, the pound was steadily edging up ahead of this evening's parliamentary vote in Westminster on whether to take a no-deal Brexit off the table.Sterling was quoted at USD1.3159 Wednesday midday, versus USD1.3083 at the London equities close on Tuesday. It started the week at USD1.30, but rose early Tuesday above USD1.32 before being knocked back below USD1.31 as it became clear the Commons would reject UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit agreement with the EU."The pound is halfway through a week of huge volatility, with the currency acting more like an emerging market than one of the leading reserve currencies of the world. The PM may have lost her vote yesterday, but to a large degree that is what was expected at the start of the week anyway, hence the fact that the pound is up on the week," said IG's Mahony.He added: "Everyone expects Parliament to reject a no-deal Brexit and approve an extension to article 50, but it may not be as simple as that. Ultimately whether the UK leaves without a deal is down to the EU, who must agree an extension."If as expected MPs reject a no-deal Brexit this evening, a third vote will follow on Thursday on whether to authorise May to request an extension of the two-year Article 50 negotiation process.In order to avoid a walkout by Cabinet ministers who oppose a no-deal Brexit, May has given fellow Tories a free vote on Wednesday evening's no-deal motion.They will vote on a motion stating: "This House declines to approve leaving the EU without a Withdrawal Agreement and a framework on the future relationship on March 29."However, the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, questioned why discussions would need to be extended as talks over Article 50 are now "done and dusted". He told the European Parliament: "What will their choice be, what will be the line they will take? That is the question we need a clear answer to now. That is the question that has to be answered before a decision on a possible further extension."Barnier added: "The risk of no-deal has never been higher. That is the risk of an exit - even by accident - by the UK from the EU in a disorderly fashion."Taking place in the House of Commons ahead of the vote, though commanding less attention than the ongoing Brexit drama, is Chancellor Phillip Hammond's Spring Statement at 1230 GMT. He is not expected to set out any new tax or spending measures, but will give the latest borrowing and growth forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility. "With the budget deficit, fiscal year-to-date, comfortably undershooting the projection for the full year, the OBR is certain to make at least a modest downward revision to the deficit path," said Brian Hilliard at Societe Generale. "Hammond will seize on this as evidence that the finances are in excellent shape and robust enough to provide support, if needed, in the case of a Brexit No Deal."In the US, stocks are pointed to a broadly higher open with the Dow Jones Industrial Average seen flat but the S&P 500 called up 0.1% and the Nasdaq 0.2% higher.Dow constituent Boeing, down 11% for the week at Tuesday's New York close, was trading another 1% lower in pre-market dealings Wednesday. An Ethiopian Airlines spokesman said the black box from the Boeing jet that crashed and killed all 157 people on board will be sent overseas for analysis.The announcement came as much of the world grounded or barred the plane model and grieving families arrived at the disaster site.The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft crashed in Ethiopia six minutes after take-off on Sunday. The disaster is the second involving a 737 Max 8 plane in just five months.In the US economic calendar on Wednesday are producer prices at 1230 GMT and durable goods orders at the same time, with construction spending at 1400 GMT.At the top of London's FTSE 100 was Standard Life Aberdeen, gaining 2.7% as it shook up its board and edged its dividend higher. Keith Skeoch, former head of Standard Life, will become the sole chief executive officer with his co-CEO Martin Gilbert, founder and former head of Aberdeen, to take up the role of vice chair.Standard Life proposed a final dividend of 14.3p per share, bringing its total for the year to 21.6p, up 1.4% on 2017. The company intends to maintain its 2018 dividend during "the period of transformation", which the company said is 75% complete.The fund manager recorded assets under management and administration from continuing operations of GBP551.5 billion as at December 31, down 9.3% from GBP608.1 billion at the end of 2017.Russ Mould, AJ Bell investment director, said investors would likely be pleased Standard Life refrained from a dividend cut. "Investors had been bracing themselves for a cut from Aberdeen Asset Management before it welcomed Standard Life's embrace and while today's statement may offer some reassurance, investors will still be on a state of alert," Mould said.He also noted: "Although the change in group structure in 2017 muddies the comparison a little, Standard Life had increased its dividend every year since its 2006 flotation, so that proud record is now coming to an end in 2019."Hikma Pharmaceuticals was towards the bottom of the index, dipping 4.2% as core operating profit missed consensus.The generic drug maker posted a pretax profit of USD293 million for the year, swinging from a pretax loss of USD738 million in 2017.Operating expenses played a key role in this, falling to USD679 million from USD1.71 billion after the USD1.08 billion impairment of intangible assets and property, plant and equipment from its Columbus drug-making facility. This manufacturing facility has since been restructured, Hikma said.Core operating profit was USD460 million, 19% above its core operating profit of USD386 million in 2017 but 2.3% less than the USD471 million consensus.British American Tobacco shares shed 1.6%. The tobacco major said its Canadian subsidiary has received court protection in the tobacco litigation taking place in Quebec.Early March, the Court of Appeal in Quebec rejected the appeal by Imperial Tobacco Canada, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, and JTI-MacDonald Corp against a CAD15.6 billion judgement against them. The three are the Canadian subsidiaries of BAT, Philip Morris International, and Japan Tobacco respectively. The case, running since the 1990s, was brought by smokers who alleged the cigarette makers had failed to warn them of the risks associated with smoking.BAT's Imperial Tobacco Canada is liable for CAD9.2 million of the CAD15.6 billion judgement.BAT said: "Imperial Tobacco Canada has informed us it disagrees with the court's judgment."However, we understand CCAA protection will provide Imperial Tobacco Canada an opportunity to settle all of its outstanding tobacco litigation under an efficient and court-supervised process whilst continuing to run its business in the normal course."Despite posting some early gains, Wm Morrison Supermarkets traded 0.9% lower at midday. The grocer reported a fall in annual profit, but saw strong like-for-like sales growth as it bumped up its payout for the year by 25%. Morrisons upped its total annual payout by a quarter to 12.60 pence per share from 10.09p a year ago. This was made up of a total ordinary dividend of 6.60p, after a final payout of 4.75p, in addition to a special dividend of 4.0p, which brought its special payout for the year to 6.0p. For the year ended February 3, the UK's fourth biggest supermarket by market share posted pretax profit down 16% to GBP320 million from GBP380 million a year ago.Revenue increased 2.7% to GBP17.7 billion from GBP17.3 billion, while like-for-like sales, excluding fuel and VAT, rose 4.8%, picking up pace from 2.8% achieved the year before. Like-for-like sales beat analyst consensus which had forecast a 4.5% rise. Avast was at the bottom of the FTSE 250, sliding 5.0% as the cyber security firm turned to an annual profit but said its chief executive plans to step down.It was Avast's first annual results since its May 2018 stock market float and subsequent promotion to the FTSE 250 index.For 2018, Avast swung to a USD192.5 million profit from a USD28.9 million loss reported in 2017. This was on the back of revenue rising to USD808.3 million from USD652.9 million, while costs remained broadly stable on the prior year.Meanwhile, the company said Chief Executive Vincent Steckler is to step down on June 30 and be replaced by president of the Consumer business, Ondrej Vlcek. The Consumer segment is Avast's largest unit.Capita was down 4.4% after the outsourcer confirmed late Tuesday that, several weeks ago, its received an unsolicited offer for its travel business from Corporate Travel Management. Capita said the negotiations are ongoing but noted there is no certainty the disposal will complete.