LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: FTSE Pauses After Broadly Upbeat Week For Stocks

LONDON (Alliance News) - The FTSE 100's momentum appeared to be running out as the week neared its close, with Just Eat, Hikma Pharmaceuticals and Sage all weighing on the blue-chip index on Friday.Nonetheless, London's index of large-caps is on course to finish the week 1.9%."It's been a bizarre week in the markets, one that looks set to end on a negative note in a potential sign that investors are not particularly comfortable despite a three day winning streak," commented Craig Erlam at Oanda.The FTSE 100 was down 19.46 points, or 0.3%, at 7,334.05 Friday midday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 was down 67.57 points, or 0.4% at 19,463.08. The AIM All-Share was down 0.5% at 955.80.The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.2% at 12,438.05. The Cboe UK 250 was down 0.3% at 17,499.17, though the Cboe UK Small Companies was up 0.3% at 11,833.80.In European equities, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt were down 0.4% and 0.9% respectively. The week got off to a "woeful start" after China unveiled counter tariffs against the US, Erlam commented, but investor worries were then soothed by reports US President Donald Trump will delay European auto tariffs by six months. "That proved enough to settle investors and markets have recovered since Monday but I wonder whether futures trading in the red heading into the weekend is a sign they're not entirely convinced," said Erlam. Tracking Europe lower, Wall Street is on course to open in the red on Friday. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 are both called down 0.3%, while the Nasdaq is seen down 0.4%. In the UK, the pound declined to be quoted at USD1.2761 at midday versus USD1.2788 at the London equities close on Thursday as cross-party Brexit talks broke down. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pulled the plug on the negotiations, telling the prime minister "we have been unable to bridge important policy gaps between us".Corbyn also said the prospect of a change in Tory leadership meant the government was becoming "ever more unstable and its authority eroded" and Labour could not be confident in any cross-party agreement being delivered.In a letter to UK Prime Minister Theresa May, Corbyn said: "I believe the talks between us about finding a compromise agreement on leaving the EU have now gone as far as they can."Commenting on the breakdown in talks, Erlam said: "We've gone from a situation in which a deal late in the day looked likely to one in which all options, up to and including no deal, may be back on the table. That doesn't bode well for the economic prospects and the currency may continue to suffer as these options become more plausible."In European data, annual inflation in the eurozone accelerated in April to the highest level in five months.The consumer price index rose by 1.7% in April, compared to 1.4% in March. This was in line with the preliminary estimate and economist expectations. Month-on-month, the inflation rate in the monetary block accelerated to 0.7% in April from 1.0% recorded in March.Annual core inflation, which excludes volatile prices of energy, food, alcohol & tobacco, was 1.3% in April from 0.8% in the prior month.In London at midday, there was a lack of appetite for takeaway platform Just Eat, the stock down 7.2%. This was after online retail giant Amazon backed rival food delivery firm Deliveroo as part of a USD575 million fundraising round. "It's not just the fresh funding that has stoked concerns, Amazon is known for its tolerance for losses, and its willingness to price-gouge in search of market share," highlighted Laith Khalaf at Hargreaves Lansdown.Meanwhile, Hikma slipped 2.8% despite saying it got off to a good start to the year. Hikma, which makes branded and non-branded generic drugs, said its Injectables business has performed well, with strong demand offsetting rising competition in the US. For its Generics unit, a "more differentiated product portfolio" has helped drive revenue growth in 2019 so far, and the pharma company's Branded business experienced "good growth".Sage was down 1.6%. The accounting software firm said it saw double-digit growth in profit in the first half of its current financial year as it progresses its transition away from licence contracts.Revenue in the six months to the end of March grew 6.5% to GBP957 million from GBP899 million, pushing pretax profit up by 16% to GBP198 million from GBP171 million.Software and software related services revenue declined by 12% to GBP137 million during the period, reflecting the company's plan to transition towards subscription from licence revenue. As a result, software subscription revenue jumped by 28% to GBP485 million in the first half. At the top of the index cruised easyJet, shares rising 4.7% as it posted a rise in interim revenue but a wider pretax loss. The company's revenue increased 7.3% to GBP2.34 billion from GBP2.18 billion the year before. Total revenue per seat, however, was down by 6.3% to GBP50.71 from GBP54.10. Fuel cost per seat jumped 14% in the period to GBP13.02 from GBP11.42 the year before, driven by a rise in oil prices. This saw easyJet's pretax loss came in at GBP272 million compared to GBP68 million reported for the same period a year earlier.Revenue per seat, at constant currency, is expected to be "slightly down" in financial 2019, hurt by the "ongoing negative impact" of Brexit as well as a "wider macroeconomic slowdown" in Europe. Full year headline cost per seat, excluding fuel at constant currency, is also expected to be down."It is a tough time to be an airline in general with rising labour costs, excess capacity and spiralling fuel costs, not to mention the growing pressure on the whole concept of flying from environmental campaigners. Against this stormy backdrop, easyJet perhaps has a clearer flight path than some of its peer group," commented Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.In the FTSE 250, Metro Bank shares rose 18% to 631.04 pence after the lender raised more than initially hoped for in a recent fundraise. The challenger bank raised GBP375 million, exceeding its initial target of GBP350 million.Metro Bank will issue a total of 75.0 million new shares at a placing price of 500p each, representing a 5.2% discount to Thursday's closing price. "Although we've faced challenges in the past few months, we remain fully focused on providing the outstanding service and convenience that our customers expect of us," said Chair & Founder Veron Hill, who himself subscribed for 1.0 million share sin the placing. Justifying the need for the capital raise, on Thursday, the lender explained it had been hit by a mix of macroeconomic difficulties such as regulatory changes and the low-interest rate environment as well as "company-specific factors".Elsewhere on the Main Market, Thomas Cook shares sank 24% to 14.95 pence after Citigroup cut the stock to Sell from Neutral and slashed its price target to zero from 28p.