11th Nov 2026 12:19
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were higher at midday on Wednesday, as European equities advanced and investors assessed reports that the UK government would resist aligning financial services regulations with the EU, alongside fresh diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
The FTSE 100 index was up 43.79 points, 0.4%, at 10,795.58. The FTSE 250 was up 89.35 points, 0.4%, at 24,836.00, and the AIM all-share was up 2.73 points, 0.4%, at 762.27.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 1,071.37, the Cboe UK 250 was marginally higher at 21,851.45, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.2% at 18,709.34.
In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt gained 0.7%.
The UK government is unwilling to accept automatic alignment of British financial services regulations with those of the EU, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing UK officials.
Under the proposed mechanism, the UK would automatically adopt EU regulations in certain sectors. However, Prime Minister Andy Burnham's government is seeking to preserve the City of London's regulatory independence and does not want financial services included in any such arrangement.
The Labour government is negotiating closer ties with the EU, potentially including regulatory alignment in areas such as agriculture and energy. However, British officials have told their European counterparts that extending the arrangement to financial services is a red line, according to people familiar with the discussions cited by Bloomberg.
While the position is likely to be welcomed by some in the City, the report highlighted the difficulties facing Burnham's efforts to deepen relations with Brussels.
Bloomberg noted that any future attempt to rejoin the EU or its single market, an option Burnham has previously suggested could be considered, would likely require Britain to accept EU financial services regulations.
Meanwhile, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, following trilateral talks involving the US, Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi.
Kushner said the meeting would seek to build on progress made during the negotiations and explore areas where further agreement might be possible.
He said the discussions with Putin would "go over what was discussed today and try to make more progress on some of the issues that we discussed because we see some openings."
The US delegation will then travel to Dublin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and brief him on the outcome of the Moscow discussions.
"After that we're going to fly to Dublin and we're going to be with President Zelensky to debrief with him and further explore some of the ideas that we came up with here today," Kushner told reporters following two days of talks.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3321 at midday Wednesday, edging down from USD1.3323 at the London equities close on Tuesday. Against the euro, sterling rose to EUR1.1957 from EUR1.1949 a day earlier.
The euro edged down to USD1.1148 from USD1.1150 late Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar rose to JPY158.83 from JPY158.79.
In the FTSE 100, Spirax Group rose 3.8% after reiterating its full-year guidance, supported by stronger organic sales growth and improved profit margins.
The thermal energy and fluid technology specialist said organic sales growth and adjusted operating profit margin in the four months to October 31 improved compared with the first half, while performance for the first 10 months of 2026 remained in line with expectations.
ICG climbed 3.1% after raising its interim dividend despite reporting lower half-year profit, which nevertheless exceeded market expectations.
The alternative asset manager said pretax profit fell to GBP287.3 million in the six months ended September 30 from GBP351.6 million a year earlier, while asset management earnings declined to GBP194.0 million from GBP238.4 million.
However, fee-earning assets under management increased to USD89.67 billion at September 30 from USD86.52 billion at April 1.
ICG raised its interim dividend to 29.0 pence per share from 27.7p a year earlier, while reiterating its focus on long-term investment performance and expanding its institutional client business.
In the FTSE 250, ITV fell 4.5% after reporting a decline in revenue for the first nine months of the year, as weaker advertising demand offset growth in its digital operations.
The broadcaster said total revenue declined 1.2% to GBP2.76 billion in the nine months ended September 30 from GBP2.80 billion a year earlier.
ITV Studios revenue fell 1.3% to GBP1.33 billion from GBP1.35 billion, while Media & Entertainment revenue declined 1.0% to GBP1.43 billion from GBP1.45 billion.
Digital revenue rose 7.0% to GBP461 million, with streaming hours increasing 29%.
THG declined 4.0% after Barclays restarted coverage of the company with an 'equal weight' rating.
Taylor Wimpey dropped 3.0% after lowering its full-year expectations, citing higher mortgage rates and rising living costs that continued to weigh on housing demand during a subdued autumn selling season.
The housebuilder now expects around 10,500 UK home completions in 2026, excluding joint ventures, with adjusted operating profit anticipated to be around the bottom end of the company-compiled consensus range of GBP262 million to GBP299 million.
Among smaller companies, Eco Animal Health Group rose 3.6% after submitting an application to the European Medicines Agency for marketing authorisation for its Ecovaxxin MG vaccine.
Motorpoint Group gained 4.3% after reporting higher half-year revenue and profit, while maintaining its full-year 2027 expectations following an upgrade to market consensus in September.
The used-car retailer said pretax profit rose to GBP6.5 million in the first half from GBP3.6 million a year earlier, while revenue increased to GBP686.7 million from GBP647.7 million.
Basic earnings per share rose to 5.9p from 3.2p, while the interim dividend doubled to 2.0p from 1.0p.
Motorpoint said strong trading momentum had continued into the second half, with retail volumes rising 9.7% in October.
Stocks in New York were called higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average set to open up 0.1%, the S&P 500 up 0.8%, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite up 1.8%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 5.01% at midday Wednesday, widening from 5.00% on Tuesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury widened to 5.37% from 5.36%.
Brent oil was trading at USD91.90 a barrel at midday Wednesday, higher than USD91.74 late Tuesday.
Gold was quoted at USD4,051.04 an ounce, up from USD4,025.90 late Tuesday.
Still to come on Wednesday's economic calendar, the US publishes its monthly federal budget statement.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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