LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Stocks Subdued As US Earnings Season Kicks Off

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stocks in London were slightly higher at midday Friday amid caution as US reporting season got underway with JPMorgan Chase reporting growth in their quarterly results and Wells Fargo slated to report next.The FTSE 100 was up 0.4%, or 31.81 points, at 7,449.66. The FTSE 250 was up 0.3%, or 65.82 points, at 19,687.00, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.4% at 942.34.The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.4% at 12,543.16. The Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 17,591.87, and the Cboe UK Small Companies was up 0.2% at 11,297.44.City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta said: "The FTSE's upward move is partly subdued because of caution over the oncoming US reporting season due to kick off with results from JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo, followed by Citigroup on Monday. Unlike last year when the banks' earnings showed spectacular increases and heralded a strong set of corporate earnings across US blue chips this quarter is expected to show the first contraction in the S&P 500 index since 2016.""The decline in turn could prompt the White House into further measures to protect certain industries and to push for more supportive economic policies." In the FTSE 100, miners were among the blue chip risers in the wake of mixed economic data from China.Glencore was up 2.5%, Antofagasta, up 2.2%, Rio Tinto, up 1.5% and BHP Group up 0.7%. Official data showed that China's exports rose 14.2% in March from a year earlier, beating analysts' expectations and marking the strongest growth in five months.However, imports dropped an 7.6% annually, worse than analysts' forecasts for a 1.3% fall and widening from February's 5.2% fall. The data also showed China's iron ore imports rose in March.In the FTSE 250, Games Workshop was the best performer, up 11% after the tabletop gaming retailer said trading has "continued well" since its half year report in January and profit is set to rise for its current financial year. In its financial year ending June 2, Games Workshop expects to post a pretax profit of around GBP80 million, a 7.4% increase from its GBP74.5 million profit the year before. The company also said, for the period since its January half-year report and Sunday last week, its sales and profit are ahead year-on-year. The company's royalties receivable are also ahead for the same period after the signing of new licence agreements. Games Workshop also declared a 35 pence per share divided "in line with the company's policy of distributing truly surplus cash". The dividend will be paid on May 31 and lifts the annual dividend declared and paid in the company's current year to GBP1.55 per share, up 23% from GBP1.26 per share the year before.At the other end of the midcaps, Plus500 was the worst performer, down 26% after the contracts-for-difference provider said its first quarter revenue fell sharply on "subdued" financial markets. In the three months to March 31, Plus500 recorded revenue of USD53.9 million, far lower than the USD297.3 million reported in the first quarter of 2018 and 65% lower than the USD154.8 million reported in the previous quarter. The company's average revenue per user fell 60% year-on-year to USD550 from USD1,363 and 64% compared to the previous quarter where Plus500 reported average revenue per user of USD1,523. Plus500's number of active customers, decreased 3.7% to 97,921 from 101,634 compared to the previous quarter. Compared to the corresponding quarter last year, Plus500's active customers are down 55%. Compounding its woes, Berenberg cut the stock to Hold from Buy. Peers IG Group and CMC Markets were down 2.1% and 4.8%, respectively. Pets At Home was down 15% at 139.20p after Canada Pension Plan Investment Board sold an 11% stake in the pet products retailer.Canada Pension Plan, or CPP, is selling 54.2 million shares in the FTSE 250 company at 148 pence each, for a total of GBP80.2 million. Pets at Home will receive no proceeds, and Merrill Lynch did not say how many shares the pension plan now holds. Merrill Lynch acted as sole book runner in the sale. The pound was quoted at USD1.3074 at midday, flat against USD1.3075 at the London equities close on Thursday. On the political front, cross-party negotiations to try to break the Brexit deadlock were continuing in Whitehall on Friday, as Parliament began its delayed Easter holiday.Prime Minister Theresa May's effective deputy David Lidington and Environment Secretary Michael Gove were taking part in the talks, while shadow chancellor John McDonnell was representing Labour.May made it clear on Thursday she intends to bring her Brexit deal back to the Commons for a fourth time after EU leaders agreed to extend the Article 50 withdrawal process to October 31. The PM met briefly with Jeremy Corbyn at Westminster when they agreed to continue efforts to find a common way forward. The UK is now formally on track to hold European Parliament elections, having informed the European authorities ahead of Friday's deadline that it would be taking part in the ballots occurring across the continent from May 23-26. However, May's office is still hoping they can get a withdrawa deal through Parliament in time to avoid the need for Britain to hold and participate in the elections. "With parts of the Tory party infuriated by the Brexit delay there is now talk about a summer leadership contest and mounting pressure on May to leave her post. Even with the leadership contest there is absolutely no clarity on how this would exactly affect the Brexit process and it is far from clear that the Conservative Party will be able to agree internally on where Brexit should be heading," Cincotta said. In European equities, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt were up 0.2% and 0.5%, respectively, at midday.The euro stood at USD1.1306 at midday, up from USD1.1270 at the European equities close Thursday. Stocks in New York were set for a higher open, as US bank JPMorgan Chase reported its quarterly earnings and Wells Fargo slated before the opening bell in New York.The DJIA was called up 0.4%, the S&P 500 index up 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.6%.With bank stocks lower this year, any indication of a positive outlook for the year ahead will be welcomed by investors. JPMorgan Chase reported earnings for its first quarter that advanced from last year. The bank's bottom line totaled USD9.18 billion, or USD2.65 per share. This compares with USD8.71 billion, or USD2.37 per share, in last year's first quarter. The company's revenue for the quarter rose 4.7% to USD29.85 billion from USD28.52 billion last year.Wells Fargo has been embroiled in scandals stemming from the 2016 revelation of a fake accounts fraud spawned by predatory incentives in internal sales practices. This resulted in rising legal fees, a damaged reputation and tougher sanctions from federal regulators - leading to the departure of Chief Executive Officer Tim Sloan.