FTSE higher as MPs vote in favour of Brexit amendments

The FTSE is trading higher after another turbulent Brexit night when MPs voted against extending the deadline for Britain’s exit from the EU and broadly supported Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit Plan B. The pound’s reaction was swift: dropping to $1.30 against the dollar from $1.319 earlier Tuesday and helping some FTSE constituents gather steam this morning. But in the meantime sentiment has shifted in favour of sterling which has been trading at $1.31 this morning.

Despite the PM's enthusiasm last night, on closer inspection it becomes clear that she may not be able to actually deliver on the changes she is proposing. Brussels has immediately slammed the door in the face of a renegotiation with the EC’s President Donald Tusk saying that the EU would not renegotiate the deal.

FTSE mining companies are the biggest gainers this morning followed by Burberry, which is rising on hopes of a Sino-US trade deal.

US and China start another round of trade talks

The latest installment of the trade talks has started on the wrong foot as the US brought criminal charges against Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei, mainly over the company's involvement in breaching Iran sanctions. Although Huawei has been tainted with allegations of being involved in espionage China has fiercely defended its biggest telecoms maker. The current money laundering and fraud charges are all related to Huawai maintaining business relationships with Iran during a period of US sanctions but the situation is being complicated by the fact that this week Germany, France and the UK set up a special purpose company to continue trading with Iran in defiance of the current set of US sanctions. The markets are keeping their expectations low for the talks that will go on for two days – Dow futures are notching lower this morning by 0.27%.

Dollar slides ahead of Fed meeting

The greenback is sliding against a basket of currencies this morning ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting later today. Although investors broadly expect the central bank to leave rates unchanged they will keep a keen eye on any comments that would confirm a slight slowdown of the US economy and shed light on the Fed’s plans for interest rates later this year.

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