Source: Sharecast
As well, Mr. Cohen's attorney, Larry Davis, reportedly told CNN his client had "knowledge" pertaining to computer hacking - which is a computer crime - that might be of interest to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Despite that, the FTSE 100 was up 0.11% or 8.54 points to 7,574.29, even as the pound was 0.08% higher versus the dollar to 1.2907, albeit off its session-highs of 1.2937.
The second-tier index was only marginally lower, ceding 0.36 points to trade at 20,642.50.
Concerns were growing that Trump's legal troubles in the coming months might hurt US Republicans' chances of carrying the House of Representatives at the mid-term elections, next autumn, after Cohen pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws for the purpose of influencing the election.
Cohen also claimed that "a Federal candidate" had told him to arrange payments to silence two women alleged to have had affairs with Trump.
Nevertheless, for UBS's Paul Donovan, because Trump was not a 'mainstream' Republican, unlike Richard Nixon in the 1970s, the risks for Republicans heading into the midterms were "not clear", although the possibility did exist that the White House might ramp-up its rhetoric on trade to serve as a smoke screen.
In the background meanwhile, the US S&P 500 remained comfortably within striking distance of its record highs, trade talks permitting, but nonetheless set a fresh record for the length of a bull market in the US of 3,453 days, having notched up a gain of 323% since 9 March, 2009.
Unfortunately, over that same time span, the FTSE 100 had run-up just 114%, despite sporting a dividend yield that was more than double that on offer on the S&P 500 and short-term rates being lower on this side of the Pond at present, Samuel Tombs at Pantheon Macroeconomics pointed out to clients.
"Indeed, U.K. equities have fared worse than U.S. equities on a fairly consistent basis since the late 1980s," he added.
Why? Because the technology sector is "microscopic" in the UK, whereas laggards such as Financial Services and Energy are more heavily weighted than in the US, he explained.
Tech firms accounted for 0.8% of the UK MSCI, but 26% of America's.
Meantime, in the corporate patch, builders' merchant Grafton Group rallied after it posted a 19% jump in first-half pre-tax profit to £90m, while housebuilder Persimmon was still on the rise following its first-half numbers on Tuesday, lifting peer Barratt Developments.
Transport operator Go-Ahead Group nudged up as it announced that group chief financial officer Patrick Butcher would be leaving to join Capita as CFO there.
Sainsbury's failed to hold onto early gains as it emerged that leading shareholder Invesco Perpetual has backed its proposed £12bn merger with Asda.
DS Smith was boosted as Jefferies kept its 'hold' rating on the stock but said it sees a supportive pricing opportunity and further sector consolidation, while Mondi was in the green as the same broker said it was a "long-term quality play".
Intertek slipped as it replaced chief financial officer Ed Leigh with group financial controller Ross McCluskey in a management shakeup at the product testing company.
Diploma was a little firmer after announcing the acquisition of St Albans-based FS Cables for up to £18m in cash, in a deal that is expected to be immediately earnings-enhancing.
Elementis was little changed after the speciality chemicals group said it had agreed to sell a site in Jersey City for $17m (13m).
John Wood was upgraded to 'equal-weight' at Morgan Stanley, while Lancashire and Provident Financial were upgraded to 'hold' at Berenberg with Liberum doing the same with Rio Tinto.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,574.24 0.11%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,642.50 -0.00%
techMARK (TASX) 3,552.35 -0.06%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,100.00p 1.90%
Fresnillo (FRES) 946.80p 1.78%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,636.00p 1.58%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 504.20p 1.51%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,087.00p 1.46%
Mondi (MNDI) 2,148.00p 1.42%
ITV (ITV) 167.05p 1.33%
Whitbread (WTB) 4,020.00p 1.28%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,382.50p 1.24%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,464.00p 1.11%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
NMC Health (NMC) 3,908.00p -3.70%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,554.50p -3.57%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,533.00p -2.99%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 735.60p -1.31%
Evraz (EVR) 480.00p -1.25%
Centrica (CNA) 143.70p -1.24%
National Grid (NG.) 818.20p -1.17%
BAE Systems (BA.) 617.60p -1.12%
Severn Trent (SVT) 1,988.50p -1.00%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 223.10p -0.93%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 758.40p 6.52%
Keller Group (KLR) 1,104.00p 5.14%
Premier Oil (PMO) 121.50p 3.67%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 240.60p 3.44%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 491.00p 3.35%
SIG (SHI) 131.10p 3.23%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 637.20p 3.11%
Provident Financial (PFG) 686.40p 2.42%
Grafton Group Units (GFTU) 794.50p 2.32%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 156.60p 2.29%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 260.50p -4.40%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 5,920.00p -4.36%
Rank Group (RNK) 167.80p -4.00%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 480.40p -2.65%
FirstGroup (FGP) 90.95p -2.57%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,335.00p -2.46%
Cranswick (CWK) 3,184.00p -2.09%
IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 369.00p -1.87%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,254.00p -1.84%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,907.50p -1.80%
