(Alliance News) - London stocks were struggling to find direction early on Monday, with Smiths Group weighing on the large-cap index, as investors await updates on the signing of a promised trade deal between the US and China.
The FTSE 100 index was down 14.36 points, or 0.2%, at 7,630.54. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 3.07 points at 22,062.06. The AIM All-Share index was up 0.3% at 957.42.
The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.1% at 12,926.39. The Cboe 250 was flat at 19,950.61 and the Cboe Small Companies flat at 12,199.02
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3113 early Monday, slightly higher than USD1.3092 at the London equities close on Friday.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.2% and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt likewise 0.4% lower in opening trade.
The euro was quoted at USD1.1198 early Monday, marginally higher on USD1.1175 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted slightly lower, at JPY109.17, versus JPY109.47.
In Asia on Monday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index ended down 0.8%. Despite losing 181.1 points to close at 23,656.62, the Nikkei ended with its highest year-end level in 29 years. The gain was partly thanks to the Bank of Japan's ultra-loose monetary policy, which the central bank maintained all year.
For the year, the Nikkei rose 18%, the first increase in two years, despite slow growth in China, Japan's largest trading partner, and a year-long trade war between Washington and Beijing.
Uncertainty remains over the final details of the first phase of the US-China trade deal, which is expected to be signed in January, and details have not been disclosed.
In China, the Shanghai Composite closed up 1.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed 0.3% higher.
The economic events calendar on Monday has US goods trade balance at 1330 GMT.
In London early Monday, Smiths Group started 0.6% lower after the Sunday Times reported that Andy Smith is likely step down as chief executive upon completion of the spin-off of the FTSE 100 engineer's medical business.
Smith, who has been chief executive of Smiths since 2015, has been under fire since the company was forced to abandon a merger of the medical unit with American firm ICU Medical, the Times reported.
In September 2018, Smiths confirmed that talks with ICU for a deal fell through. According to the Times, the Smiths board was unhappy with the terms of the deal.
Elsewhere, radio frequency technology provider CyanConnode surged 29% as it has secured an order for 33,000 smart metering solutions units in Thailand, a new territory.
Under the agreement CyanConnode said it will supply its hardware, head end system and an annual maintenance services. Hardware deliveries will start in 2020, with deliverables for the integrated system commencing immediately.
As part of the contract, CyanConnode said it will receive an upfront payment at the time of order of around USD400,000, which is about 25% of the contract value.
In commodities, gold was quoted at USD1,512.50 early Monday, slightly lower than USD1,514.27 at the London equities close on Friday. Brent oil was trading at USD66.88 early Monday, down from USD68.14 at the London equities close on Friday.
By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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Smiths Group (SMIN)
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