LONDON MARKET OPEN: Soft Pound And Miners Drive FTSE Outperformance

LONDON (Alliance News) - London shares got off to another strong start on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 once again outpacing its European counterparts as it got a boost from improved commodity prices and a lower pound following conflicting Brexit votes in Parliament. The FTSE 100 was up 51.07 points, or 0.8%, at 6,885.00 in early trade. The FTSE 250 was 21.25 points higher, or 0.1%, at 18,723.86, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.2% at 910.35.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.8% at 11,691.35, while the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 16,711.97 and the Cboe UK Small Companies also up 0.1% at 11,219.93.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt were up 0.4% and down 0.2% respectively. "European markets opened slightly higher this morning, with the DAX lagging while the FTSE 100 has pushed higher, no doubt helped by a weakening in the pound overnight, as well as firmer commodity prices, driven by a rally in oil and copper prices," said CMC Markets chief market analyst Michael Hewson.The pound was lower as UK Prime Minister Theresa May prepares to return to the EU to try to renegotiate her Brexit deal after members of Parliament gave their backing to proposals to replace the controversial backstop, but rejected an amendment to keep the UK in the EU for the rest of the year.At the same time, one of the prime minister's most important negotiating weapons was ripped from her hands, as the House of Commons also voted to block a no-deal Brexit.May secured the backing of the Commons to go back to Brussels, as MPs voted by 317 to 301 in favour of a proposal from Tory grandee Graham Brady for her to try to replace the backstop with "alternative arrangements" to keep the Irish border open after Brexit.European Council President Donald Tusk, in response to Tuesday's vote, insisted that the withdrawal agreement struck last November is not open for renegotiation.Meanwhile, a cross-party plan, headed by Tory Caroline Spelman and Labour's Jack Dromey, won by 318 votes to 310, majority 8. It "rejects the UK leaving the EU without a Withdrawal Agreement and a Framework for the Future Relationship".MPs however also rejected Labour former minister Yvette Cooper's call for an extension of Article 50 to keep the UK in the EU until the end of the year in order to reach a deal.Sterling was quoted at USD1.3069 early Wednesday, down from USD1.3152 at the London equities close on Tuesday.London's miners were taking up the top spots in the FTSE 100 in early trade, with Rio Tinto up 2.8%, Glencore up 2.3% and Anglo American up 2.1%. Copper was quoted at USD6,087.97 early Wednesday, up from USD6,062.50 late Tuesday.Gold was quoted at USD1,314.86, up from USD1,310.47 late Tuesday as the precious metal continued to climb to fresh seven-month highs. Blue-chip gold miner Frensillo was up 1.8%.Fashion house Burberry also was among the gainers, up 2.8% in a positive read-across from French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH.LVMH reported Tuesday that organic revenue grew 11% in 2018, with operating profit up 22% to EUR9.9 billion.In the FTSE 250, Wizz Air fell 3.8% after reporting revenue rose in the three months to the end of December but profit dropped as costs stacked up.Passengers in the third quarter rose 15% to 8.1 million, as revenue in the period grew 21% to EUR512.7 million. However, pretax profit dropped to EUR1.8 million from EUR14.6 million a year ago as operating expenses shot up 26% to EUR512.7 million.Wizz Air maintained its annual net profit guidance in a range of between EUR270 million to EUR300 million."Where we will be within this range will depend on the extent of March yield pressures which will be affected year-on-year given Easter falls after the financial year-end in April and external factors such as Brexit uncertainty," commented Chief Executive Jozsef Varadi.Elsewhere on the Main Market, Taptica was up 15% after confirming it is in advanced talks to takeover RhythmOne in an all-share merger to create "one of the leading video advertising companies in the US".The merger is intended to be constructed as an acquisition of RhythmOne by Taptica, with Taptica proposing to issue 16 new shares for each 19 RhythmOne shares. On this basis, Taptica shareholders would own 50.1% of the combined group and RhythmOne shareholders 49.9%.The companies stressed that there is no certainty a firm offer will be made, and Taptica now has until February 26 to put in a firm bid or walk away. On Tuesday's closing prices, Taptica had a market capitalisation of about GBP115 million, while RhythmOne's market cap was GBP147 million, making a combined firm worth about GBP262 million.Shares in RhythmOne, however, were down 1.1% in early dealings.In the economic calendar on Wednesday, there are mortgage approval data for the UK at 0930 GMT and eurozone consumer confidence at 1000 GMT, followed by German CPI at 1330 GMT.In the US, private payroll processor ADP releases employment change figures for January, a precursor to Friday's monthly nonfarm payroll data, while the Federal Reserve announces its latest monetary policy decision at 1900 GMT. This will be followed by a press conference with Fed Chair Jerome Powell.Shares in iPhone maker Apple were up 5% in post-market trade after the tech giant reported figures in line with the negative sales outlook issued earlier in January.Apple said second quarter iPhone revenue declined 15% on a year prior, while total revenue from all other products and services grew 19%. The company said services revenue reached an all-time high of USD10.9 billion, up 19% over the prior year.Apple posted revenue of USD84.3 billion in the three months ended December 29, a decline of 5% from the same quarter a year earlier. Earnings per diluted share were USD4.18, up 7.5%.The earnings report comes four weeks after Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook announced a slowdown in iPhone sales in China, marking the first decline in a over decade in sales there.In Asia on Wednesday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.5%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended 0.7% lower, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed up 0.2%.