LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Flat As Pound Firms Up; Mining Stocks Provide Support

By Emily Horton

Stocks set to lose 2% for the week

The FTSE 100 struggled to remain in the black on Friday, as higher commodity stocks lifted the market, but a stronger pound kept gains for the index in check.

What are markets doing?

The FTSE 100 added 0.1% to 6,826.81, after finishing down 0.35% on Thursday. London's softer session was in contrast to stronger gains across Europe. For the week, the FTSE is looking at a loss of 2%.

What's driving the market?

The British pound firmed up after the Sun reported (https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/brexit/8274637/dup-agree-to-support-pm-brexit-plan/) that the DUP have privately decided to back May's Plan B Brexit deal, after she strengthens the proposal next week. Even as it pared earlier, stronger gains, sterling rose to $1.3104 from $1.3065 late in New York on Thursday. A stronger pound tends to weigh on the FTSE 100, which houses many exporters who get a chunk of their revenue from foreign companies.

The Queen has reportedly sent a message to U.K. lawmakers encouraging them to seek common ground and grasp the big picture to resolve the Brexit crisis, Reuters (https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu/queen-sends-a-brexit-message-to-uk-politicians-end-your-bickering-idUKKCN1PJ0QN) reported.

The new chief executive of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS)), David Solomon, also had a message for U.K. parliament--a messy Brexit will impact the bank's investment decisions in the U.K (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/goldman-boss-says-difficult-brexit-will-impact-uk-jobs-and-investment-2019-01-25).

What stock are active?

Heavyweight mining stocks were among the FTSE 100 top gainers on Friday, Antofagasta PLC (ANTO.LN) gained 2%, Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) and Fresnillo (FRES.LN) rose around 3% and BHP Group (BHP.LN) gained close to 2%.

Vodafone Group PLC (VOD.LN) lost nearly 3%, after reporting a fall in revenue (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/vodafone-revenue-falls-backs-full-year-guidance-2019-01-25).

Meanwhile, Rentokil Initial PLC (RTO.LN) lost 0.8%, after the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority ordered the company to sell several large supply contracts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-cma-orders-rentokil-to-sell-supply-contracts-2019-01-25).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 25, 2019 08:22 ET (13:22 GMT)

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