Taylor Wimpey Share News (TW.)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 slumped as Wednesday's session progressed, with Pearson contributing to the declines as it reported continued weakness in its US markets. The FTSE 100 was down 34.66 points, or 0.5%, at 6,860.36, while the FTSE 250 was up just 2.13 points at 18,431.90. The AIM All-Share was up 0.3% at 902.54.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.6% at 11,645.68, while the Cboe UK 250 was flat at 16,482.88 and the Cboe UK Small Companies up 0.1% at 11,117.82."The FTSE started the day at a slightly lower note following the spectacular defeat in Parliament of the prime minister's Brexit proposal. London has woken up to a new day of uncertainty as Jeremy Corbyn tabled a motion of no confidence in the government which will be decided on today. It is far from given that the vote will manage to shift the government," said Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index.Members of Parliament voted against May's withdrawal deal late Tuesday by an overwhelming 432 votes to 202, causing EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier to warn that the risk of a no-deal "has never seemed to high".The 230-vote margin of defeat was by far the worst suffered by any government in a meaningful division since at least the First World War, and in normal circumstances would be enough to force a prime minister to resign.However, May made clear she will soldier on and set out plans for cross-party talks in the hope of finding "genuinely negotiable" solutions which she can take to Brussels.Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn slammed the "catastrophic" defeat as he tabled a motion of no confidence in the prime minster, scheduled to take place this evening. The challenge is unlikely to succeed after pro-Leave Conservative party members and the DUP threw their weight behind May. "We never wanted a change of government, we want a change of policy," said the DUP's Sammy Wilson.Cincotta explained: "The currency markets are increasingly reading [the Brexit vote defeat] as a positive sign, believing that a hard Brexit is becoming more unlikely than an extension of the Brexit March deadline or even a change on the overall Brexit direction."Sterling was quoted at USD1.2862 Wednesday midday, having dipped as low as USD1.2667 immediately before the result of the vote was announced on Tuesday, higher than USD1.2761 at the London equities close on Tuesday.The pound eased off some of Tuesday's earlier intraday highs as UK consumer price growth slowed to its weakest level in nearly two years in December, driven by a big fall in fuel prices.Consumer price inflation eased to 2.1% in December on an annualised basis from 2.3% in November, in line with economists' expectations. The latest inflation figure was the lowest since January 2017, when it was 1.8%. Over in Germany, consumer price inflation also eased in December, coming in at its slowest rate in eight months. The consumer price index rose 1.7% year-on-year following a 2.3% increase in November, and was in line with the flash estimate released in December. The latest inflation figure was the lowest since April, when price growth was 1.6%, same as in March.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was flat, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was 0.2% lower at midday.Stocks in the US are headed for a mixed start, with both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 called up 0.1% while the Nasdaq is seen shedding 0.1%.Ahead of the New York open, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are due to report earnings. Already out, investment firm Blackrock said fourth quarter profit fell on last year. The investment company's profit totalled USD930 million, or USD5.78 per share, compared to USD2.30 billion, or USD14.01 per share, in last year's fourth quarter. Excluding items, Blackrock reported adjusted earnings of USD980 million, or USD6.08 per share for the period.The company's revenue for the quarter fell 8.8% to USD3.43 billion from USD3.76 billion last year.Dragging on the FTSE 100 at midday was Pearson, down 7.9% despite saying it expects to deliver a profit for 2018 in line with guidance. "The headline profit numbers in this trading update are solid enough, but it's not quite so rosy under the bonnet. Pearson's only managed to hit targets through better than expected cost savings, which are masking weak sales trends in the all-important US market. Unfortunately, there's no sign this market will turn positive for Pearson this year either," said George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.Pearson expects adjusted operating profit for 2018 to be between GBP540 million and GBP545 million, in line with its guidance range of GBP520 million to GBP560 million. Pearson said underlying revenue was down 1% year-on-year, with declines in US Higher Education Courseware of 5% and US K12 courseware largely offset by the rest of the business growing at over 1%.The company's cost efficiency programme is tracking "ahead of plan" with around GBP130 million of cost savings delivered in 2018. By the end of 2019, Pearson expects to reach annualised cost savings of GBP330 million. Looking ahead, the company expects adjusted operating profit for 2019 of between GBP590 million to GBP640 million.Shares in Reckitt Benckiser were 2.6% lower on news Chief Executive Rakesh Kapoor - who has been at the helm of the consumer goods giant for eight years - intends to retire from his role by the end of 2019.The FTSE 100-listed maker of Nurofen painkillers said it has now started a formal process to appoint Kapoor's successor, and will be considering both internal and external candidates.Gathered at the top of the blue-chip index were housebuilders after an upbeat update from FTSE 250-listed peer Bovis Homes.Bovis, up 4.7%, said it delivered 3,759 new homes in 2018, up 3% on last year and in line with expectations. The total average selling price on completions was GBP273,000, marginally higher than the GBP272,400 achieved last year.The housebuilder said it expects to deliver a "significant step-up" in its operating margin for 2018 following the implementation of operational improvements, with profit for the year expected slightly ahead of market consensus.In the FTSE 100, Taylor Wimpey was up 3.3% while Persimmon was 3.2% higher, Barratt Developments up 2.6% and Berkeley Group also rising 2.6%.Hochschild Mining was down 6.1% after the gold miner reported a rise in annual production but guided to a fall in 2019.The company's total attributable production for the year included 260,436 ounces of gold, 19.7 million ounces of silver, 526,650 gold equivalent ounces and 39.0 million silver equivalent ounces. This compares to 254,930 ounces of gold, 19.1 million ounces of silver, 513,600 gold equivalent ounces and 38.0 million silver equivalent ounces in 2017.All-in sustaining costs for 2018 are on track to meet guidance of USD940 to USD970 per gold equivalent ounce, the company added. For 2019, Hochschild expects to produce 457,000 gold equivalent ounces and 37.0 million silver equivalent ounces.