London open: Stocks slip on Chinese data, Ukraine tensions
- Chinese manufacturing PMIs disappoint
- Ukraine tensions high after Putin calls for "statehood"
- Perform shares jump on Access Industries offer
techMARK 2,857.65 +0.23%
FTSE 100 6,811.96 -0.11%
FTSE 250 15,922.03 +0.23%
Weak economic data from China and ongoing geopolitical tensions in Ukraine prompted a lower start for UK stock markets on Monday, as investors took a cautious approach ahead of a busy week.
London's FTSE 100 was trading 0.1% lower at 6,812 in early trading.
A flurry of macroeconomic indicators are due out across the globe over the next few days, though markets will be mostly focusing on policy decisions from the Bank of England and European Central Bank on Thursday, followed by the all-important US non-farm payrolls report on Friday.
As for Monday's session, two separate manufacturing reports from China were dampening investor sentiment after they showed that growth in the sector had eased in August, compounding renewed fears of a slowdown after a recent spate of weak data from the Asian powerhouse.
The government's official purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector fell to 51.1 last month, missing the 51.3 forecast, while HSBC's own China manufacturing PMI was revised lower from 50.3 to 50.2, compared with the 50.5 estimate. Both PMIs were down from 51.7 in July.
Tensions in Eastern Europe were ignited over the weekend by calls from Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks on "statehood" for south-east Ukraine. The comments come as Western leaders prepare to impose further sanctions on Moscow following further fighting near the border of Ukraine.
Perform soars on Access Industries offer
Sports media firm Perform saw shares rocket after Access Industries Group offered to buy all the shares it doesn't already own for 260p each or £410m, valuing the entire company at £702m. The investment group already holds a 42.5% stake in Perform.
Barclays rose after saying that it is to offload part of its Spanish business to Caixabank for €800m as part of its non-core asset disposal programme.
However, banking peers HSBC, Lloyds and RBS were heading the other way. Supermarket rivals Wm Morrison, Tesco and J Sainsbury were also in the red early on.
Housebuilder Berkeley Group inched lower after saying that it has seen a normalisation of transaction levels over recent months. Nevertheless, others in the sector such as Redrow, Crest Nicholson, Barratt Developments and Persimmon were performing well in morning trade.
Precious metal miners Fresnillo, African Barrick Gold and Hochschild Mining were making gains as gold and silver prices climbed.
Tesco came under further selling pressure following negative news-flow over the weekend, including an article in the FT's Lex column which argued that the company's shares are not yet a bargain.
FTSE 100 - Risers
BAE Systems (BA.) 457.30p +2.74%
ITV (ITV) 215.40p +1.99%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,352.00p +1.27%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,438.00p +1.20%
Kingfisher (KGF) 307.30p +1.19%
Meggitt (MGGT) 477.20p +1.19%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 373.90p +1.08%
Carnival (CCL) 2,269.00p +1.02%
Fresnillo (FRES) 971.50p +0.99%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,133.00p +0.98%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 173.40p -2.31%
Tesco (TSCO) 226.00p -1.72%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,397.00p -1.20%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,872.00p -1.04%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 287.40p -1.00%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,418.00p -0.82%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 870.50p -0.74%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 648.10p -0.60%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,532.50p -0.59%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,466.00p -0.58%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Perform Group (PER) 256.50p +25.86%
African Barrick Gold (ABG) 243.70p +4.32%
Cobham (COB) 304.50p +2.49%
Redrow (RDW) 280.70p +2.41%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 240.20p +2.39%
Ted Baker (TED) 1,979.00p +2.27%
RPS Group (RPS) 284.20p +2.19%
Unite Group (UTG) 446.30p +1.90%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 182.60p +1.67%
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 91.75p +1.61%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Supergroup (SGP) 1,052.00p -3.57%
NMC Health (NMC) 485.10p -2.81%
Afren (AFR) 94.85p -2.72%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 860.00p -2.27%
AO World (AO.) 215.90p -1.86%
PayPoint (PAY) 1,058.00p -1.31%
Renishaw (RSW) 1,640.00p -1.26%
Foxtons Group (FOXT) 251.30p -1.18%
Infinis Energy (INFI) 213.50p -1.07%
Scottish Inv Trust (SCIN) 585.50p -1.01%
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