London midday: FTSE erases losses as Kingfisher and Barratt gain

London's FTSE 100 had erased earlier losses and was trading in positive territory by Wednesday lunchtime, helped by decent gains from Kingfisher, Barratt Developments and precious metal stocks.However, upside was being limited by falls from Sports Direct and a host of blue chips that went ex-dividend.The Footsie was trading 0.2% higher at 6,841 by noon, bouncing off an intraday low of 6,800.04 reached early on.UK stocks had started off on the back foot following declines on Wall Street on Tuesday evening after a highly-anticipated product launch from tech giant Apple underwhelmed US investors. The company unveiled two new versions of its iPhone as well as its first wearable watch device and a new contactless payment system, though these were widely expected by the market.Concerns about a sooner-than-expected rate hike from the Federal Reserve were also behind the losses seen in the States after two San Francisco Fed economists said that markets could be "misconstru[ing]" the central bank's forward guidance. "Our evidence indicates that the public seems to expect more accommodative monetary policy than the summary of economic projections suggests," they said.Markets were awaiting a Bank of England inflation report hearing on Wednesday. Four members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will sit down before the Treasury Committee and answer questions on its inflation report, providing an opportunity for the market to glean more concrete guidance on monetary policy.Meanwhile, investors were keeping an eye out for a new opinion poll which looked set to cause fresh shock waves in the Scottish independence debate on Wednesday as leaders of the UK's Westminster-based political parties headed to Scotland in a last-ditch bid to save the union.Polling group Survation and Scotland's Daily Record newspaper are due to publish a survey on Wednesday night which pundits said looked like being "sensational". A second poll showing the separatists with the advantage over the 'no' camp would fuel speculation that a 'yes' vote is becoming more likely.Kingfisher, Barratt Developments lead the risersB&Q and Brico Depot owner Kingfisher saw shares jump after replacing its chief executive as it reported flat profits due to currency volatility, although it said the buoyant UK housing market had lifted demand for DIY products.Housebuilder Barratt Developments pledged to return almost £1bn to shareholders over the next three years via special dividends after an impressive set of final results, helping the stock higher.Randgold Resources, Fresnillo, African Barrick Gold and Polymetal were all putting in decent performances in London after gold futures on the Comex in New York rebounded slightly after hitting a three-month low on Tuesday. Other heavyweight mining stocks such as Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Glencore were also making gains.Admiral was a heavy faller after going ex-dividend. Other stocks trading without access to their latest dividend payments included AL Noor Hospitals Group, Berendsen, Bwin.party Digital Entertainment, G4S, Savills, Standard Life, Land Securities, Hargreaves Lansdown, Restaurant Group and Rank Group.Sports retailer Sports Direct initially slumped but erased most of its losses by midday after revealing details of how England's disappointing performance at the World Cup affected sales. Group sales were up 12.2% in its fiscal first quarter, as 16.3% growth in the largest sports retail business was partly offset by declines in the premium lifestyle and brands divisions.The London Stock Exchange edged lower after saying that trends have been broadly unchanged since its trading update on 22 August. Market MoverstechMARK 2,863.44 -0.09%FTSE 100 6,841.41 +0.18%FTSE 250 15,762.33 -0.16%FTSE 100 - RisersKingfisher (KGF) 315.50p +2.70%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 372.70p +1.53%Pearson (PSON) 1,146.00p +1.33%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,536.00p +1.26%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,436.00p +0.97%BP (BP.) 471.20p +0.93%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 176.70p +0.80%BAE Systems (BA.) 456.20p +0.80%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,249.50p +0.79%Schroders (SDR) 2,452.00p +0.78%FTSE 100 - FallersAdmiral Group (ADM) 1,233.00p -4.71%ARM Holdings (ARM) 957.00p -1.59%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,017.00p -1.55%G4S (GFS) 259.00p -1.33%Carnival (CCL) 2,365.00p -1.17%GKN (GKN) 349.20p -1.16%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 290.00p -1.13%WPP (WPP) 1,278.00p -1.01%Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,006.00p -0.98%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 5,305.00p -0.93%FTSE 250 - RisersAfrican Barrick Gold (ABG) 240.50p +4.70%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 231.20p +2.98%Genus (GNS) 1,145.00p +2.69%BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 2,013.00p +2.44%Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,404.00p +2.41%Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 279.40p +2.34%Just Retirement Group (JRG) 145.10p +2.18%Polymetal International (POLY) 524.00p +2.04%Poundland Group (PLND) 323.40p +2.02%Ted Baker (TED) 1,809.00p +1.97%FTSE 250 - FallersFidessa Group (FDSA) 2,192.00p -4.49%Greene King (GNK) 810.00p -2.59%Restaurant Group (RTN) 629.50p -2.55%COLT Group SA (COLT) 139.80p -2.24%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 48.70p -2.07%esure Group (ESUR) 240.00p -1.80%Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 405.60p -1.74%Rank Group (RNK) 158.30p -1.74%Xaar (XAR) 419.30p -1.69%Spirent Communications (SPT) 106.00p -1.67%