UKX FTSE 100 Index

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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