LONDON (Alliance News) - Energy stocks were weighing on the FTSE 100 at midday on Wednesday, with the blue-chip index also hampered by a firm pound, which received a lift after the EU said it is prepared to work "day and night" to reach a Brexit deal.The dollar earner-heavy FTSE 100 index was down 0.1%, or 9.91 points, at 7,263.63 at midday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 rose 0.3%, or 58.36 points, to 20,284.78 while the AIM All-Share index was 0.4% higher at 1,100.85.The Cboe UK 100 was flat at 12,303.84, while the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 18,456.37 and the Cboe UK Small Companies up 0.1% at 12,154.94.The pound strengthened on Wednesday as European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, in his last annual state of the union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, said Brussels stands ready to work "day and night" to reach a Brexit deal.At the same time, he warned the other 27 member states remain united behind the commission's negotiating position and that the UK cannot enjoy the same "privileged position" as a member state.He welcomed Theresa May's proposal in the Chequers plan for the establishment of a free trade area between Britain and the EU."The UK will never be an ordinary third country for us. The UK will always be a very close neighbour and partner, in political, economic and security terms," he said.Juncker added that it "will not be the commission" that stands in the way of the UK withdrawing from the bloc in an "orderly" and stable fashion.Sterling was quoted at USD1.3029 at midday, up from USD1.2995 late Tuesday.The EC president's comments came as Michael Gove urged Tory MPs to rally behind May after hardline Brexiteers attended a meeting looking at ways to unseat the UK prime minister. The Environment Secretary described rumours of a direct leadership challenge "whether it was Boris [Johnson] or any other individual" as "loose talk" that might undermine the mandate for Brexit.Around 50 MPs discussed ways and means of getting rid of the prime minister at a gathering of the European Research Group, the Press Association reported. A number of MPs told how they had already submitted letters of no confidence to Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, and others discussed plans to follow suit.In mainland Europe on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.6% while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was 0.3% higher at midday.In eurozone data, industrial production in the bloc decreased for the second straight month in July.Industrial output slid 0.8% month-on-month in July, Eurostat said, the same pace of decline as seen in June. Economists had forecast a more moderate drop of 0.5%. On a yearly basis, industrial production decreased 0.1%, in contrast to a 2.3% rise in June and the expected growth of 1%.To come in the economic events calendar are US producer prices, due at 1330 BST.Wall Street is poised for a slightly higher open on Wednesday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 seen up 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite is set to gain 0.2%.US investor focus is on product launch event being staged by Apple, with the tech giant expected to reveal as many as three new versions of the iPhone. A new Apple Watch and revamped iPad Pro could also appear during the show, according to industry analysts.The new iPhone line-up will reportedly feature a refreshed version of the high-end iPhone X, which was first introduced last year, alongside a larger-screen device and a cheaper iPhone that will also feature the iPhone X's all-screen front panel and Face ID technology.Back in the UK, FTSE 100-listed trenchcoat maker
Burberry gained 1.7%, benefiting from a positive read-across after French luxury goods firm Hermes, known for its Birkin handbags, posted a 17% rise in interim net profit.
Taylor Wimpey gained 1.0% after Barclays upgraded the housebuilder to Overweight from Equal Weight.Languishing at the other end of the FTSE 100 was energy provider
SSE, down 8.0% after issuing a profit warning.The company said that "dry, still and warm weather" in the first five months of its financial year, in addition to "consistently" high gas prices, has hit adjusted operating profit to the tune of GBP190 million.The higher gas prices and still, hot weatherresulted in a higher cost of energy than expected, lower-than-expected output from renewable sources, and lower volumes of energy being consumed.The net result is that SSE expects adjusted operating profit for the first half as a whole to be "around half" of that delivered a year ago."It is very rare to see a profit warning from a utility company as they are meant to have fairly predictable income streams. Yet SSE bucks the trend because of the wrong type of weather...Ultimately it is a good reminder that even seemingly defensive companies still have operational and regulatory risks," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.The update from the 'Big Six' provider saw shares in British Gas parent
Centrica trade 3.1% lower at midday.The biggest riser in the FTSE 250 was
Galliford Try. Shares in the housebuilder and construction firm were 5.0% higher after reporting a jump in annual profit.For the year ended June 30, the company posted a pretax profit of GBP143.7 million, multiplied from GBP58.7 million a year prior. Before exceptional costs, pretax profit came in at GBP188.7 million, a 28% increase year-on-year from GBP147.6 million.Galliford recorded a total exceptional charge of GBP123 million relating to its Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project during the year, following the collapse of Carillion - which was a partner in the project alongside Galliford and Balfour Beatty - at the start of 2018.Galliford proposed a final dividend of 49p per share which, added to the interim dividend of 28p, brings its payout for the year to 77.0p per share. A year ago, the total dividend was 86.0p. In second place among mid-cap winners was home furnishings retailer
Dunelm, advancing 4.6% as its own set of annual results showed profit edged up while online like-for-like sales surged.The mid-cap firm's pretax profit edged higher to GBP93.1 million for the year to June 30 from GBP92.4 million reported a year ago, as revenue increased 9.9% to GBP1.05 billion from GBP955.6 million.Like-for-like sales were up 4.2% year-on-year, with store like-for-like sales increasing by 1.0% and comparable online sales growing a whopping 38%.
TI Fluid Systems fell 2.9% to 268.40 pence after BC Omega Holdco sold 60 million shares in the company, representing an 11.5% stake, at 262 pence each raising proceeds of GBP157.2 million. Following the sale, BC Omega will hold 282.3 million shares in TI Fluid, representing a 54.4% stake.
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