FTSE 100 movers: Miners provide a drag

5th Nov 2012 15:15

Mining stocks were providing a drag as investors digested the economic figures out in China overnight. The HSBC China services PMI fell from a four-month high of 54.3 to 53.5 in October, contrasting with the official services PMI from the National Bureau of Statistics this weekend which rose from 53.7 to 55.5. The latter is leading some to expect fewer calls for new stimulus measures in the Asian giant.Vedanta, ENRC, Kazakhmys, Rio Tinto and Antofagasta were heavy fallers throughout Monday's session. Banking giant HSBC was also under the weather after reported pre-tax profit fell from $3.7bn to $3.5bn in the third quarter, which came in below consensus forecasts. As well as further provisions for PPI redress, third-quarter results included an additional provision of $800m in relation to the ongoing anti-money laundering investigation in the US. Lloyds and RBS were also unwanted. Meanwhile, leading the upside was engineering group Weir after saying that it is set to deliver double-digit profit growth this year despite weak order inputs and a slowdown in growth in the third quarter. GSK shares were given a boost after AlphaValue upgraded the stock from reduce to add. British American Tobacco shares were boosted by the news that the company, along with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, are today requesting that Ontario's highest court throw out the $40bn lawsuit that was launched against the two firms by a provincial government, claiming the lawsuit has a false theory as its basis. Supermarket giant Morrisons was also making gains ahead of its third-quarter trading update on Thursday. Speaking last week, Seymour Pierce analyst Kate Calvert said: "Recent market share data points to continued deterioration in sales trends and so a weak number is expected by the market." As well, the company is expected to confirm this week, alongside a third quarter trading update, that it will launch a family clothing brand called Nutmeg next Easter, The Sunday Telegraph reported. Spain´s top tribunal has declared null and void the court ruled arbitration which brought the conflict between Iberia -IAG´s Spanish subsidiary- and its main pilots union -SEPLA- to a premature end. The results of the above intermediation had been appealed by Iberia´s low-cost subsidiary Iberia Express. FTSE 100 - RisersWeir Group (WEIR) 1,847.00p +5.48%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,384.50p +1.69%British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,132.00p +1.11%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 170.60p +0.89%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 266.00p +0.83%Serco Group (SRP) 571.00p +0.79%Bunzl (BNZL) 1,023.00p +0.79%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 642.00p +0.63%Croda International (CRDA) 2,177.00p +0.60%CRH (CRH) 1,201.00p +0.59%FTSE 100 - FallersVedanta Resources (VED) 1,116.00p -3.79%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 323.50p -3.00%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 717.00p -2.45%Carnival (CCL) 2,485.00p -2.13%ITV (ITV) 87.60p -2.12%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,147.00p -2.08%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 275.70p -1.99%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,569.00p -1.88%GKN (GKN) 213.00p -1.71%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 42.70p -1.68%NR