LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Dragged Lower As U.K.'s May Delays Brexit Vote

By Emily Horton

London markets were turbulent on Monday, with stocks ending a choppy session in negative territory after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May delayed indefinitely a parliamentary vote on proposed Brexit plan.

What are markets doing?

In a session that saw the index flip between gains and losses, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended the day down 0.8% at 6,721.54, after closing down 2.9% at the end of the week on Friday.

What is driving the market?

Financial markets were rattled after Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed that a highly anticipated vote on her Brexit plan, which had been set for Tuesday, had been delayed. Initial weakness in the British pound , which slumped to a 20-month low (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sterling-dives-to-fresh-18-month-low-as-brexit-vote-reportedly-cancelled-2018-12-10) versus the dollar had been seen giving equities a lift, but stocks were unable to maintain altitude.

Read:U.K. delays Brexit vote -- what happens next? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-is-said-to-delay-brexit-vote-what-happens-next-2018-12-10)

U.S. stocks slumped early in the Wall Street session (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wall-street-in-for-a-struggle-to-shake-off-last-weeks-losses-as-stock-futures-fall-2018-12-10), also contributing to the weaker tone, before paring losses after Europe markets closed.

Also, the European Court of Justice ruled on Monday that the U.K. could officially cancel Brexit without the permission of the other 27 EU member states.

On the economic front, figures released on Monday showed Germany's trade surplus with the rest of the world narrowed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/germanys-trade-surplus-narrows-in-october-2018-12-10). (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/germanys-trade-surplus-narrows-in-october-2018-12-10) (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/germanys-trade-surplus-narrows-in-october-2018-12-10) According to the Federal Statistics Office exports of goods -- not goods and services -- rose 0.7% in October from the month before.

The Bank of France announced that the French economy will grow slower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/french-protests-blamed-for-cut-in-growth-forecast-2018-12-10) than originally projected and blamed recent protests across the country for the lag.

What stocks are active?

Among decliners, Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA.LN) (RDSA.LN) and BP PLC (BP.LN) fell more than 1% as oil futures saw renewed pressure.

Drug stocks led gainers, with AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.LN) up 1.4% and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.LN) (GSK.LN) posting a rise of 2.2%.

Just Group PLC (JUST.LN) jumped by over 19% after the U.K's insurance regulator announced a favorable ruling on capital charges on equity-release mortgages, a specialty product of the U.K.-based retirement company.

In media stocks, ITV PLC (ITV.LN) dropped by 4.1%

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 10, 2018 13:47 ET (18:47 GMT)

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