| London stocks kicked November off on the back foot on Thursday, edging lower as sterling surged on Brexit hopes, with all eyes on the upcoming Bank of England rate announcement. At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.4% to 7,096.75 as the pound traded up 1.1% against the dollar at 1.2902 and 0.6% higher versus the euro at 1.1350. A stronger pound tends to weigh on the top-flight index as around 70% of its constituents derive most of their earnings from overseas. Sterling started making gains overnight following Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab's indication that an agreement could be reached by 21 November. However, Raab was quick to backtrack, admitting just hours after the reports came out that there was "no set date for the negotiations to conclude". Still, the currency soon got another boost on Wednesday from a report suggesting that a tentative deal has been struck for UK financial services. According to The Times, the UK has agreed with Brussels to give financial services continued access to European markets after Brexit. Citing government sources, it said a tentative agreement has been reached on all aspects of a future partnership on services, along with the exchange of data. "This news easily overshadowed Dominic Raab’s quick climbdown over the proximity of a wider deal…and helped put sterling back on the right path after a troublesome October," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell. Market participants will also be watching out for the BoE rate announcement and quarterly inflation report at 1200 GMT amid expectations of no chance to policy. London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler said: "As a rate hike is not on the cards so investors will be paying particular attention to any changes in economic projections and the general tone of the minutes. There are undoubtedly some positives to the UK economy at present. Unemployment is low, wages are increasing at a much healthier pace and inflation remains above the 2% target level. "However, uncertainty surrounding Brexit combined with recent weaker than forecast data means a downside revision for GDP is more likely than any upside improvement. Inflation exceeded the central bank’s 2% level and increased month on month in September. Sterling has also fallen which could create further inflationary pressures." Meanwhile, the latest survey from Nationwide showed annual house price growth in the UK slowed to its lowest level in more than five years in October. Annual house price growth slowed to 1.6% from 2% in September, missing expectations for a 1.9% increase and marking the slowest rate since May 2013. Meanwhile, prices were flat on the month in October versus a 0.2% rise in September, missing expectations for a 0.2% increase. Nationwide's chief economist Robert Gardner said the results were broadly in line with Nationwide's expectations, as the squeeze on household budgets and the uncertain economic outlook is likely to have dampened demand, even though borrowing costs remain low by historic standards and unemployment is at 40-year lows. "We continue to expect house prices to rise by around 1% over the course of 2018. Looking further ahead, much will depend on how broader economic conditions evolve. If the uncertainty lifts in the months ahead, there is scope for activity to pick-up throughout next year. The squeeze on household incomes is already moderating and policymakers have signalled that interest rates are only expected to rise at a modest pace and to a limited extent in the years ahead." In corporate news, Shell spilled lower even as the oil giant's third-quarter profits rose 37% to a four-year high, thanks to rising oil prices, but still managed to miss forecasts. Just Eat nudged lower even as it served up a 41% jump in third-quarter revenue and Hilton Food was also weaker after a trading update. Croda International fell despite posting 4.5% growth in third-quarter core business sales and Admiral Group was in the red after saying that the wife of former chief executive Henry Engelhardt was investing $25m into price comparison site Compare.com, where the insurer already owns a majority stake. Doorstep lender Provident Financial ticked lower as it announced that Chris Sweeney was stepping down from his role as managing director of the group's Vanquis Bank arm. Ashmore, Hilton Food, Morgan Advanced Materials, Senior, Softcat and Unilever were among the companies whose stock went ex-dividend. On the upside, BT surged after saying its profits increased 24% in the first half of its trading year as costs fell as 2,000 jobs were cut as part of its massive restructuring programme and BHP Billiton advanced after saying it plans to return $10.4bn to shareholders via a stock buyback and special dividend. Smith & Nephew racked up sharp gains as it posted a 3% rise in third-quarter revenue on the back of a strong performance in the US and emerging markets, and backed its full-year guidance. Spire Healthcare was the top gainer on the 250 after Betaville said that Advent International has quietly build up a 3.5% stake in the company. Rank Group gained after announcing the appointment of William Floydd - most recently chief financial officer of Experian UK & Ireland - as its new CFO, and Lancashire Holdings rose after the insurer's third-quarter loss narrowed. On the broker note front, HSBC was upgraded to 'hold' at DZ Bank, while Synthomer was cut to 'underweight' at JPMorgan. Berenberg initiated coverage of Cairn Energy and Nostrum Oil & Gas at 'buy', while Premier Oil and Tullow were started at 'hold'. | 
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