By Shashwat Awasthi and Muvija M
(Reuters) - London's main index ended a choppy Tuesday session with slight gains, as investors looked towards the signing of the Phase 1 U.S.-China trade deal, while betting firms lost ground after Britain banned consumers from using credit cards to gamble.
The FTSE 100 (FTSE) closed 0.1% higher. The FTSE 250 (FTMC) rose 0.2%, driven by a 9.2% jump in miniature wargame maker Games Workshop (L:GAW) after reporting record profit and sales.
Ahead of the interim trade deal on Wednesday, a source said China would ramp up purchases of cars, aircraft and energy supplies from the United States. Separately, Washington said Beijing should no longer be designated a currency manipulator.
"A little bit of risk-off across the board ... as investors look towards next steps in terms of U.S.-China trade. There's no one catalyst apart from general profit-taking ahead of the start of earnings season in the U.S.," CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said.
Homebuilder Taylor Wimpey (L:TW) was the second-best performer on the FTSE 100, rising 4% after a trading update showed that its order book surged 22% in 2019, aided by the government's Help to Buy scheme.
Meanwhile, gambling firms Flutter Entertainment (L:FLTRF) and William Hill (L:WMH) gave up 1.2% and 2.5%, respectively, on Britain's new rule designed to prevent consumers from building up too much debt.
Other industry players GVC (L:GVC) and 888 (L:888) recouped earlier losses to end marginally higher.
Shares of Elementis (L:ELM) slid 14.7% to the bottom of the midcaps after the speciality chemicals company warned of a lower 2019 profit. The stock recorded its steepest one-day fall since mid-2015.
Another significant faller was gold miner Centamin (L:CEY), which lost 7% on its worst day since early December after Canadian company Endeavour Mining (TO:EDV) scrapped plans to take over the London group.
AIM-listed online fashion retailer Boohoo (L:BOOH) advanced 5% to a record high after reporting robust performance in its Christmas trading period and hiking its full-year forecast.
"Boohoo continues to defy the broader gloom on the High Street thanks to its appeal among younger shoppers, its tight marketing and laser focus around celebs and social media," Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson said.