LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Hat-Trick For UK PMIs; Anglo American Gains

LONDON (Alliance News) - Investor sentiment was cautious on Wednesday with low volatility as US markets sat the session out for the Independence Day holiday.Mining stocks in London were broadly lower as the price of copper fell, though Anglo American was bucking the trend on a report Vedanta Resources is considering a merger with Anglo's South African assets.Meanwhile, Wednesday's UK services data marked a hat-trick for June's Purchasing Managers' Index releases as it came in above consensus forecasts, following better-than-expected manufacturing and construction scores earlier in the week.The FTSE 100 index was down 0.2%, or 17.95 points, at 7,575.34. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was also down 0.2%, or 40.44 points, at 20,624.78. The AIM All-Share index was up 0.1% at 1,080.81.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 12,838.39, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.2% at 18,853.32, and the Cboe UK Small Companies was flat at 12,601.40.Sterling was quoted at USD1.3221 Wednesday midday after the PMI - having dipped to USD1.3170 just prior to the release - higher than USD1.3187 at the London equities close on Tuesday.IHS Markit on Wednesday showed UK service sector activity expanded at the fastest pace in eight months in June, driven by strong growth in new work.The IHS Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply Purchasing Managers' Index improved to 55.1 in June, above expectations for the reading to come in unchanged from 54.0 in May.The score has remained above the 50.0 no-change mark for the twenty-third consecutive month. Moreover, the latest reading signaled the strongest rate of expansion since October 2017."A further rise in the index shows that growth is accelerating and has recovered from fears that disruption in the first quarter of this year was due to something more fundamental than the Beast from the East," said Chris Sood-Nicholls, managing director and head of global services at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.Both the UK's manufacturing and construction PMI readings - released on Monday and Tuesday respectively - had also come in above consensus forecasts.In mainland Europe Wednesday midday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.3% while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was 0.1% lower.In data from the eurozone, the bloc's economy regained some traction at the end of the second quarter, final data from IHS Markit showed Wednesday. The composite output index rose to 54.9 in June from 54.1 in May, slightly above the flash estimate of 54.8.The euro was quoted at USD1.1634 at midday, down from USD1.1658 late Tuesday.In London, miner Anglo American was the best performer in the FTSE 100 at midday, up 3.7%.Mid-cap miner Vedanta Resources is considering a merger with Anglo's South African assets to create a USD7 billion company, Indian online news agency Livemint reported. Livemint said Volcan Investments, owned by Vedanta founder Anil Agarwal, is thinking about buying Anglo American South Africa through a share swap. Volcan Holdings has a 19.35% stake in Anglo American.The report comes just days after Vedanta's majority shareholder and Chairman Agarwal made an offer to acquire the remaining stake in the Indian miner for GBP778 million. Volcan Investments currently holds a 66.53% stake in Vedanta. Volcan intends to cancel Vedanta shares from the London Stock Exchange following completion of the deal.Vedanta shares were up just 0.2% on Wednesday, though are already up 28% in the week to date.Meanwhile, other blue-chip miners on Wednesday were trading lower."Copper is taking a hit, with the September copper contract down 1.41%, as the China economic story dominates yet again, This time it is concerns that Chinese demand for copper is in decline due to slower economic growth this year," said Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index.The metal was quoted at USD6,472.76 compared to USD6,509.00 late Tuesday. BHP Billiton was down 1.6%, Rio Tinto down 1.4% and Antofagasta down 1.3%.J Sainsbury was 1.6% higher, making it the third best blue-chip performer at midday, after it reported good growth in General Merchandising in its first quarter, though grocery growth was weaker.Sainsbury's total retail sales were up 0.8% in the 16 weeks to June 30, with like-for-like sales excluding fuel growing 0.2%. Grocery sales grew 0.5% in the quarter, while General Merchandise sales increased 1.7%."The performance of the general merchandise division will be particularly pleasing to Sainsbury's boss Mike Coupe, returning to growth after three quarters of declining sales. On that front, the integration of Argos into the Sainsbury's store estate continues apace," said Laith Khalaf, a senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.The worst performer in the index was contract caterer Compass, down 1.7% after it said Johnny Thomson is standing down from his role as group finance director. Thomson will leave by the end of December, the company said, and the search for his successor will be started immediately.In the FTSE 250, National Express was 1.1% higher after the transport operator said its Spanish and Moroccan division, ALSA, has been awarded a "major" bus contract worth EUR1 billion over 15 years in Morocco.ALSA will operate the contract as the majority shareholder of a joint venture with CityBus, a local transport company.Elsewhere on the Main Market, Staffline said current trading is in line with expectations and the company "remains confident" about its growth prospects.The recruitment and training firm said that "despite a tight labour market" its recruitment division has "continued to perform strongly" in the first half of the year.