LONDON MARKET OPEN: Strong Pound Sends FTSE 100 Lower Ahead Of Vote

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened mixed on Tuesday, as a surge in the pound overnight hampered gains in the FTSE 100, amid rising expectation that UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit agreement will be backed by Parliament in a vote later Tuesday.The FTSE 100 index was 17.65 points lower, or 0.3%, at 7,112.97. The mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 33.02 points, or 0.2%, at 19,125.46, while the AIM All-Share index was 0.2% higher at 909.56.The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.1% at 12,084.35, while the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 17,081.07, and the Cboe UK Small Companies was flat at 11,077.01."The pound took the optimistic view of the last 24 hours' developments, furthering Monday's gains as it rose against the dollar. That leaves cable a smidge higher than USD1.322 - remember, at one point yesterday it was trading under USD1.30. The FTSE, in turn, tumbled in the face of the sterling's rise," Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said.The pound was quoted at USD1.3225, up from USD1.3101 at the London equities close Monday and USD1.3000 at the start of the week.UK Prime Minister Theresa May insists she has secured "legally binding" changes to the Brexit deal which ensure the Irish backstop cannot be permanent.Following last-ditch talks in Strasbourg ahead of a crunch Commons vote on Tuesday, May said she has now delivered what Parliament asked her to do.The PM said she "passionately believed" her Brexit deal addressed concerns raised by MPs who feared the backstop would keep the UK in a customs arrangement with the EU indefinitely.At a joint press conference with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, May said the three new documents agreed provided the legal assurances critics of her stance had called for. May believes the three new documents agreed with Juncker will give MPs the legally-binding reassurances they require to approve her withdrawal agreement and political declaration on the future EU/UK relationship."The likelihood for today's pound move is between 5% to 10% on the Brexit vote. The currency may slide as much as 4% if the lawmakers do not back the deal in the parliament today. The drop could be even steeper if the odds of no deal Brexit becomes more prominent, this could push the currency lower against the dollar by over 10%. On the flip side, if May's luck shines today and the deal passes through the parliament, we could see the sterling rising by another 3% to 4%," said ThinkMarkets analyst Naeem Aslam.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.4% while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was 0.7% higher.On the London Stock Exchange, Lloyds Banking Group was the best blue chip performer, up 3.0% after Goldman Sachs raised the high street bank to Neutral from Sell.Royal Bank of Scotland was up 1.9% at 262.00p after Goldman raised its price target on the stock to 395p from 350p, and reiterated its Buy rating. At the other end of the large cap index, Standard Life Aberdeen was down 1.3% after RBC Capital downgraded the asset manager to Underperform from Sector Perform.Intertek was down 1.3% after Merrill Lynch resumed coverage on the safety, inspection and testing company at Underperform.In the FTSE 250, Sirius Minerals was the best performer, up 8.6%. The fertiliser firm said it is exploring an alternative financing agreement for its massive Yorkshire mine. Sirius is developing the Woodsmith polyhalite fertiliser mine near Whitby. It is currently looking at securing stage two financing for the development project, having pursued senior debt financing with a group of possible lenders since 2016.However, it has now received a "conditional" approach from a "major global financial institution" over an alternative proposal, though it is still a senior debt facility. Sirius is working towards getting a firm commitment from the prospective lender, and hopes to have that done by the end of April. Clarkson was up 5.2% after JPMorgan upgraded the shipping services firm to Overweight from Neutral. On Monday, Clarkson reported a decline in annual profit amid Brexit uncertainty. At the other end of the midcaps, Equiniti Group was the worst performer, down 12%.The financial services administration outsourcer reported strong profit growth in a year in which it made a "successful" entry into the US.The FTSE 250 company's revenue climbed 31% to GBP530.9 million, with organic revenue growth at a record 7.3%. This revenue growth, Equiniti said, reflects its acquisition of Wells Fargo Shareowner Services, which contributed GBP81.4 million of revenue and GBP19.2 million of underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation. However, the operational separation of Wells Fargo Shareowner Services also known as EQ US is now expected by June, three months later than previously guided, which Liberum deemed "disappointing". The Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 1.8%. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed up 1.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed up 1.5%.The economic events calendar has UK industrial and manufacturing figures at 0930 GMT and US inflation readings at 1230 GMT.