By Dave Morris

London equities were led higher by financials despite mixed signals from U.S.-China trade negotiations.

How did markets perform?

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.7% to 7,257.6, following a decline of 0.9% Thursday.

The pound edged up 0.1% to $1.3009 building on Thursday's rise of 0.2%.

What's moving the markets?

First quarter gross domestic product (GDP) for the U.K. grew 0.5% over the previous quarter, slightly above the consensus of 0.45%. The Office of National Statistics attributed the increase to manufacturers stockpiling ahead of the U.K.'s expected exit from the European Union.

The major developments in the trade deal standoff between the U.S. and China (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-china-to-continue-trade-talks-friday-despite-tensions-2019-05-09)began with reports that there had been no breakthrough in the talks in Washington, D.C., meaning that U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to raise tariffs became policy. Trump said negotiations were not yet dead, and described the "beautiful letter" he received from Chinese leader Xi Jinping urging the two countries to work together.

Which stocks are active?

Financials lifted the FTSE 100 in terms of their market cap-based weighting. Insurer Prudential PLC (PRU.LN) rose 1.7%, and Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.LN) climbed 1.2%.

British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG.LN) reported first quarter earnings in line with management's predictions and asserted that it expected to make more revenue per passenger in 2019. Statutory pretax profits came in at EUR86 million versus EUR885 million because of increased fuel costs, even when stripping out currency effects. Shares were up 2.6%.

Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (RR.LN) whose shares were hit when its Trent 1000 engine came under scrutiny, got a boost from IAG's results. IAG CEO William Walsh said on the earnings call that he was "a bit more confident" that Rolls-Royce was getting the problem under control. Rolls-Royce shares increased 1.1%.

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 10, 2019 05:34 ET (09:34 GMT)

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