LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Strong Pound Sends FTSE 100 Lower

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were at lower midday on Monday with a firm pound exerting a drag on the internationally exposed FTSE 100, following the large cap index's strong gains last week. The FTSE 100 index was down 0.2%, or 14.14 points at 7,710.57. The large cap index's all-time high stands at 7,792.56 points, which was set in mid-January. The FTSE 250 was down 0.1%, or 17.19 points, at 20,768.23, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.2%, or 2.49 points, at 1,083.28.The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.1% at 13,094.70. The Cboe UK 250 was down 0.1% at 19,018.75, and the Cboe UK Small Companies up 0.1% at 12,748.86.In Paris the CAC 40 was down 0.2%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was also down 0.2%."European equities are a little on the soft side today as dealers book their profits. The major indices in Europe have enjoyed a positive run recently, in particular the FTSE 100, and it would seem the bulls are catching their breath," said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets.On the London Stock Exchange, ITV was the worst blue chip performer at midday down 3.4% as the broadcaster was giving back some gains, having risen 14% last week. Last Thursday, ITV reported first-quarter growth in online revenue and its ITV Studios content arm.BT Group was down 2.5%. BT's rivals Virgin Media and TalkTalk Telecom Group are discussing a broadband cost-sharing agreement in a bid to increase pressure on the telecommunications giant, the Daily Telegraph reported Sunday. According to the newspaper, the telecommunications firms are discussing sharing so-called passive infrastructure, which would mean TalkTalk could lay fibre optics in Virgin Media's underground ducts and vice versa. The companies aim to connect 3 million homes in the UK with faster connections, but have not yet finalised terms of the agreement, the newspaper reported. TalkTalk shares were up 0.7%. In the FTSE 250, IWG was the standout performer, up 21% after the world's biggest serviced office provider said late Friday it is considering takeover offers from three private equity firms, raising the prospect of a bidding war.IWG, which was formerly called Regus, has received separate cash bids from private equity firms Lone Star Europe Acquisitions, Starwood Capital European Operations and TDR Capital.IWG said it was evaluating the rival bids and will update investors in due course. It emphasised that there was no certainty an offer would be made."Shares in IWG hit their highest level since October 2017 on the back of the news. With three companies expressing an interest in IWG, we could see a bidding war start," said Madden. At the other end of the midcap index, speciality chemicals firm Victrex was the worst performer, down 4.3% despite raising its interim dividend and declaring a special dividend, after profit and revenue jumped on strong volumes growth. However, the stock has risen 29% over the past year. For the six months to March-end, pretax profit increased 26% to GBP63.3 million from GBP50.1 million the year prior. This was after revenue rose 27% to GBP166.6 million from GBP130.9 million the year before. Victrex proposed a 13.42 pence per share interim dividend, up 10% from 12.20 pence the year prior. It also plans to pay a special dividend of around 50% of net cash, with a 50 pence per share minimum distribution. However, the company noted currency pressures could hinder earnings in the second half. "Looking towards the remainder of 2018, currency will be much less of a tailwind compared to the first half and we are also mindful of the currency headwind for 2019," said Chief Executive Officer Jakob Sigurdsson.Entertainment One was down 3.3% after the Canadian television and film production company said its political drama series 'Designated Survivor' will no longer be broadcast on US television network ABC, as it looks for a new broadcaster for the future. The firm said the ABC - part of Walt Disney Co - would no longer broadcast Designated Survivor past its current series, which began in September. The decision will have "no impact" on E1's results for the financial year ended March. For the next financial year, however, the decision may have a "modest" impact on earnings. This depends on the outcome of the "active discussions" it is having with other parties with regards to future series. The pound was quoted at USD1.3584 compared to USD1.3536 at the London equities close on Friday. "Sterling has made a bright start to the week, moving higher across the board on rising hopes that the UK may be set to join the European Economic Area post-Brexit. The positive developments come about after comments from the Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, in which she seemed to pave the way for the UK to join the EEA which would basically constitute a 'soft' Brexit by remaining in the single market despite leaving the EU," said XTB chief market analyst David Cheetham.The euro edged higher after European Central Bank policy maker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said the end of net asset purchases by ECB is approaching and that whether it will be in September or December is not a "deep existential question".The single currency was quoted at USD1.1978, against USD1.1958 at the European equities close Friday.Stocks in New York were set for a higher open amid investor optimism over easing trade tensions between the US and China.The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called up 0.3% and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices both up 0.2%.Chinese President Xi Jinping's top economic adviser, Vice Premier Liu He, will travel to the US on Tuesday for several days of trade talks, the government announced, as Washington showed a willingness to help resolve a key commercial dispute.Liu will visit until Saturday, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said. His visit comes less than two weeks after a US trade delegation led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin came to Beijing for talks that spanned issues including intellectual property rights, high tech and the growing US-China trade deficit.The two sides reportedly agreed on little in Beijing other than to continue talks. In addition, US President Donald Trump's willingness to aid Chinese technology firm ZTE also boosted investor sentiment. US is working on a way to get ZTE back into business, Trump tweeted on Sunday. "President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast," Trump tweeted."Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!"In April, the US banned all American companies from doing business with ZTE after the company was found to have lied to regulators about trade with Iran and North Korea.