LONDON MARKETS: London Markets Flat As Boris Johnson Summons Ghost Of Napoleon
June 26 2019 - 7:49AM
Dow Jones News
By Dave Morris
London markets were flat as Conservative Party leadership
candidate Boris Johnson invoked the Napoleonic blockade in
discussions of a no-deal Brexit.
How did markets perform?
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 was flat at 7,421.3. On Tuesday it ticked up
by 0.1%.
The pound gained 0.1% to $1.2703 after closing on Tuesday down
0.3%.
What's moving the markets?
Former U.K. foreign secretary Boris Johnson
(https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-johnson/boris-johnson-pledges-brexit-in-october-with-or-without-deal-idUKKCN1TP2SP?il=0)
said potential European Union tariffs that could emerge in a
no-deal Brexit scenario would be "bizarre" and "a return to
Napoleon's continental system". The leading candidate for head of
the Conservative Party and by extension, Prime Minister, said in a
radio interview that while he was not seeking a no-deal Brexit, the
U.K. needed to be prepared for such an outcome in order for the EU
to understand how serious the U.K. side is.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC
(https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/26/mnuchin-says-us-china-trade-deal-is-90-percent-complete.html)
that the deal with China was "90% of the way there" when talks
broke off. Speaking in Bahrain, Mnuchin said he expected U.S.
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would make
progress on a deal at the G-20 summit in Japan later this week.
According to a Reuters report,
(https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trade-china/u-s-aims-to-restart-china-trade-talks-will-not-accept-conditions-on-tariff-use-idUKKCN1TR00D?il=0)
however, the U.S. side is not going into talks with the intention
of bringing concessions.
U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell gave a speech
Tuesday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/powell-says-the-fed-is-grappling-with-whether-to-cut-interest-rates-2019-06-25)
indicating that the central bank had not yet decided to cut
interest rates, dampening investors' enthusiasm over a potential
loosening of policy.
Which stocks are active?
John Wood Group PLC (WG.LN) said performance for the half-year
was up in year over year terms
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wood-group-performance-ahead-of-prior-year-2019-06-26),
and confirmed its guidance for the full year. The oil services
company said it expected revenue to grow in the second half of the
year in addition to seeing $60 million in cost synergies. Shares
were up 5.5%
Ryanair Holdings PLC (RY4C.DB) announced it was changing its
share buyback scheme
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ryanair-amends-uk-investor-share-buyback-terms-2019-06-26)
so that the budget airline company could purchase shares privately
from investors in events such as a no-deal Brexit. Its shares rose
0.6%.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 26, 2019 07:34 ET (11:34 GMT)
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