London midday: China concerns weigh on sentiment to push stocks lower

London stocks slid on Tuesday following declines in Asia as growing concerns on China’s economic slowdown weighed on investor confidence.

A report on Monday showing an 8.8% fall in Chinese industrial profits, added to woes about the nation’s slowdown. The market is now awaiting the release of manufacturing and services data on Thursday.

Glencore’s debt fears also dragged on stocks early in the week after Investec highlighted there was little equity value for shareholders and that commodity prices were in trouble. Stocks in the company rebounded along with other mining groups but this failed to lift the overall mood.

“There is still a bit of residual shell-shock in the FTSE 100 in the wake of massive 25% plunge in Glencore shares on Monday,” said Japser Lawler, market analyst at CMC Markets. “Short-covering has prompted a dead-cat bounce across the commodities space but there isn’t the confidence to invest in some of the less beaten down areas of the market.”

In better news for the market, UK mortgage approvals rose at the fastest pace since 2008 in August, the Bank of England revealed on Tuesday. Mortgage approvals for house purchases rose from 69,010 in July to 71,030 in August, beating analysts’ expectations of 69,800.

Meanwhile, retail sales grew at a much stronger rate than expected in the year to September, and the robust growth is expected to continue next month, according to the Confederation of British Industry’s latest monthly Distributive Trades Survey. The CBI said realised trades rose to +49 from +24 in August and a three-month low of +21 in July, ahead of analysts’ forecasts for a balance of +28.

“Low inflation and the recovery in wage growth are helping to stimulate consumer demand, but the slowdown in the global economy and tight margins mean retailers won’t get ahead of themselves as we head into autumn,” said Rain Newton-Smith, CBI director of economics.

Looking ahead, German inflation is due at 1300 BST with analysts expecting a 0.1% rise in September compared to a year ago, slowing from the previous month’s 0.2% growth. The European Central Bank has said it would consider extending its quantitative easing programme if inflation fails to move back towards its target of just under 2%.

The US consumer confidence index at 1500 BST is forecast to reveal a fall to 96 in September from 101.5 in August, amid concerns about the potential impact the slowdown in China’s economy will have on the US.

Among corporate stocks, Wolseley was the top faller after reporting a drop in pre-tax profits by £168m to £508m reflecting impairment and exceptional items of £242m and increased finance charges of £48m.

Wizz Air gained after saying it was on target to deliver full-year operating and net profit margins ahead of the same period last year.

Oil companies Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group and BP advanced as Brent and West Texas Intermediate futures climbed 0.73% to $47.69 per barrel and 0.8% to $44.79 per barrel, respectively.

London Stock Exchange declined as it appointed Nikhil Rathi as chief executive officer with immediate effect to replace Alexander Justham.

Boohoo rallied after posting a 39% increase in pre-tax profit for the six months to 31 August, with revenues up sharply on the back of new customers.

Market Movers

techMARK 2,973.84 -1.07%

FTSE 100 5,929.94 -0.49%

FTSE 250 16,531.23 -0.50%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Glencore (GLEN) 72.29p +5.35%

Tesco (TSCO) 170.20p +2.41%

Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,545.50p +2.05%

Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,538.00p +1.96%

Smiths Group (SMIN) 999.00p +1.42%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 229.30p +1.42%

BG Group (BG.) 958.10p +1.33%

BP (BP.) 326.70p +1.13%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 486.10p +1.06%

Babcock International Group (BAB) 902.00p +0.84%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Wolseley (WOS) 3,688.00p -11.75%

Shire Plc (SHP) 4,406.00p -3.69%

ARM Holdings (ARM) 912.00p -2.98%

Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 3,352.00p -2.56%

Sage Group (SGE) 500.50p -2.53%

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,370.00p -2.43%

Persimmon (PSN) 2,058.00p -2.42%

CRH (CRH) 1,720.00p -2.22%

Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 199.70p -1.87%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 648.00p -1.82%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Mitie Group (MTO) 298.00p +3.69%

CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,860.00p +3.62%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,947.00p +2.91%

Tullow Oil (TLW) 161.90p +2.73%

Serco Group (SRP) 100.80p +2.65%

Hunting (HTG) 393.90p +1.86%

John Laing Group (JLG) 193.50p +1.84%

Weir Group (WEIR) 1,134.00p +1.80%

Pennon Group (PNN) 760.00p +1.67%

Wood Group (John) (WG.) 588.00p +1.55%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 66.40p -11.17%

Allied Minds (ALM) 317.00p -5.12%

IP Group (IPO) 228.90p -4.03%

Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) 1,632.00p -4.00%

Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 952.00p -2.96%

Genus (GNS) 1,425.00p -2.86%

Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) 103.10p -2.74%

Man Group (EMG) 151.80p -2.38%

Keller Group (KLR) 868.50p -2.31%

Just Retirement Group (JRG) 159.00p -2.09%

FTSE TechMARK - Risers

RM (RM.) 169.00p +4.32%

Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 586.00p +3.44%

Spirent Communications (SPT) 74.50p +0.34%

E2V Technologies (E2V) 228.00p +0.22%

IShares Euro Gov Bond 7-10YR UCITS ETF (IEGM) € 202.42 +0.06%

FTSE TechMARK - Fallers

Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 8.00p -4.19%

BATM Advanced Communications Ltd. (BVC) 20.00p -3.61%

Dialight (DIA) 609.50p -3.25%

Skyepharma (SKP) 353.00p -1.88%

Consort Medical (CSRT) 918.50p -1.71%

Ricardo (RCDO) 890.00p -1.11%

KCOM Group (KCOM) 88.75p -1.11%

Innovation Group (TIG) 38.75p -0.64%

SDL (SDL) 327.00p -0.61%