LONDON MARKET OPEN: Stocks Down As Pound Gains Ahead Of Brexit Vote

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stocks in London are seen opening lower on Monday, with the FTSE 100 hampered by a firm pound which held on to gains amid Brexit optimism. In addition, investors exercised caution with the US and China set to hold a pivotal round of talks this week in an attempt to strike a deal before a deadline in early March. The pound was flat against the dollar, quoted at USD1.3170 early Monday from USD1.3173 late Friday. The UK currency hit a two-month high of 1.3211 on Friday and is up from a low of USD1.2829 last Monday.The FTSE 100 was down 22.57 points, or 0.3%, at 6,786.65. The FTSE 250 was 5.99 points higher at 18,649.57. The AIM All-Share was up 0.3% at 914.28 points.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.4% at 11,526.10 points. The Cboe UK 250 was 0.1% higher at 16,654.95 but the Cboe UK Small Companies down 0.1% at 11,185.50."The FTSE's recent decline has come alongside sterling's sunny start to 2019, one that has seen the currency's Brexit optimism grow and grow despite plenty of evidence to the contrary," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt were both down 0.4% in early trade.On the London Stock Exchange, Ocado Group was the best blue-chip performer at the open, up 5.5%, while Marks & Spencer was up 2.5%. The Daily Mail reported on Sunday that M&S is in "secret" discussions to acquire distribution centres, delivery vans and lorries from the online grocer. The newspaper reported the high street stalwart is planning to launch its own GBP1 billion food delivery service, as part of the latest twist in M&S Chair Archie Norman's strategy to restructure the company.Daily Mail noted that for the past 20 years, Ocado vans have been delivering Waitrose groceries under a contract which is due to expire in September 2020. However, Waitrose now has its own separate delivery operation run directly from its own stores and warehouses. Therefore, the newspaper said, M&S is considering buying the Waitrose part of the Ocado business and replacing it with its own products.At the other end of the large cap index, John Wood Group was down 1.5% after the oilfield services firm said it has made four sales as part of a non-core asset disposal programme.John Wood has sold its 25% stake in UK roadways concession RMS A13 Holdings, 52% of Chinese factory Power Machinery, and a share in two gas power plants in Italy.The combined proceeds of these sales are expected to be "around" USD28 million.Micro Focus International was down 1.0% after Goldman Sachs downgraded the software company to Neutral from Buy. In the FTSE 250, TI Fluid Systems was up 1.8% after the company guided for revenue to be broadly flat year-on-year at EUR3.5 billion for 2018. In 2017, revenue was EUR3.49 billion.TI Fluid Systems makes automotive fluid storage, carrying and delivery systems for light vehicles. On a constant currency basis, revenue growth should exceed growth in global light vehicle production by around 3%, the company said. TI Fluid Systems said adjusted earnings before interest and tax margin is set to be "broadly" in line year-on-year at 11%. At the other end of the midcap index, IG Group was down 2.2% after Liberum resumed coverage on the spread betting and contracts-for-difference trading provider with a Hold rating. In political news, Dublin has delivered a thinly veiled warning to Downing Street not to go back on the Brexit deal hammered out with the EU.Additionally, in what is likely to be seen as a swipe at hardline Tory Brexiteers, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney told the Press Association that those "misrepresenting" the backstop had failed to produce an alternative to it.Coveney said the UK Cabinet had endorsed the Withdrawal Agreement including the backstop aimed at preventing a hard border, as he made clear it would not be changed.With Tory Brexiteers putting pressure on UK Prime Minister Theresa May to secure a time limit for the backstop, Coveney made it clear that would not be acceptable.He said: "Skilled UK and EU teams have worked to bring about a Withdrawal Agreement that has been endorsed by 27 governments and the British Cabinet.The UK parliament is due to vote on May's Brexit Plan B on Tuesday."The order of business for today lists a number of amendments pointing in this direction. However, these particular amendments first have to be selected by the Speaker for debate and then MPs have to pass them. And then we must not forget that whatever the British parliament agrees on will then have to be agreed by the EU. In other words: we still consider the sterling gains seen since the start of the year to be courageous, but the market likes to jump onto any glimmer of hope," said analysts at Commerzbank. In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.8%, S&P 500 up 1.3% and Nasdaq Composite up 0.9%.On Tuesday this week, the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting will begin followed by the central bank's interest rate decision on Wednesday. It is widely expected that the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged."In order to avert the bouts of financial volatility, just like the two of his predecessors, Jerome Powell needs to add more colour in official statement and language. Markets need assurance that the Fed president is working for them not against them. If he doesn't deliver on this, it creates panic and the Fed runs a risk of moving the timeline of another crisis closer than where it is currently," said ThinkMarkets analyst Naeem Aslam.