LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Ends Lower As Traders Watch For Brexit News

By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

Prime Minister Theresa May will present plan to cabinet

U.K. stocks surrendered early gains Wednesday, finishing in the red as worries that Prime Minister Theresa May and the Conservative Party would not hash out a Brexit deal in time grew.

How are markets performing?

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed down 0.3% to 7,033.79. The index had traded above 7,100 earlier in the session

The British pound was seeing plenty of zigzag action, last trading at $1.2902 from $1.2969 late Tuesday. The currency has swung between a session high of $1.3036 and a low of $1.2879.

What's moving markets?

European Union and U.K. negotiators reached a draft Brexit deal in Brussels on Tuesday that May was due to put to her cabinet Wednesday afternoon. A final deal (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-and-eu-negotiators-reach-draft-brexit-agreement-in-brussels-2018-11-13) must be reached by March 29, when the U.K. is due to leave the trading bloc, but May's cabinet has to approve any proposal, which must then be ratified by the British Parliament. Sterling is sensitive to Brexit news and any strength weighs on those multinational companies that generate most of their sales in other currencies.

"There is a distinct possibility that this is a case of one step forward, two steps back, with a rejection in parliament raising the possibility of a series of risk events that include a vote of no confidence in Theresa May and even another referendum of sorts," said Joshua Mahoney, market analyst at IG, in a note to clients.

Meanwhile, data showed stable headline and core prices, which "will come as a relief to the [Bank of England] who stated that they could raise rates in both the no-deal and deal Brexit outcomes," added Mahoney.

But soft growth data from Germany (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-economy-skids-abruptly-in-third-quarter-2018-11-14-2485325) and mixed economic updates (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-gets-mixed-signals-on-october-business-data-2018-11-13) from China were blamed for driving worries about slower growth, hitting mining names.

Read:Currency traders betting on a Brexit deal are having a rough time (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/currency-traders-betting-on-a-brexit-deal-are-having-a-rough-time-2018-11-12)

What stocks are moving

Mining stocks were the big losers on Wednesday. Heavyweights Rio Tinto GPLC(RIO.LN) (RIO.LN) and BHP Billiton PLC(BHP.AU)(BLT.LN) fell 3.5% and 2.3%, respectively.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 14, 2018 14:09 ET (19:09 GMT)

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