London close: Stocks taken down by global uncertainty

5th Nov 2012 16:49

- All eyes turn to the US elections- Greece attempts to agree on austerity- UK and US services PMI disappointAfter a sharp fall early on, the FTSE 100 traded broadly sideways for the remainder of Monday's session as investors refrained from building positions ahead of a busy week for the global economy, with the US presidential elections firmly at the front of everyone's minds.Nevertheless, market analyst Michael Hewson from CMC Markets highlighted a number of reasons why markets were on the back foot today: "increasing uncertainty against a backdrop of concerns about Greece getting its budget through parliament later this week; another sharp increase in Spanish unemployment; while the outcome of tomorrow's US presidential poll promises to be as close as everyone expected it would be."What's more, economic data from home and away failed to lift sentiment today in London: the UK services purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell from 52.2 to 50.6 in October, well below the consensus esteem of 52.0 and the long-run average of 54.9. In the US, the ISM services PMI for the month of October came in at 54.2, compared with 55.1 for the month before and the consensus estimate of 54.5. Meanwhile, monthly policy meetings scheduled for later this week also kept investors on their toes today, with decisions due from the Bank of England, European Central bank and Reserve Bank of Australia.In Spain, unemployment rose by 2.7% month-on-month to 4,833,521 in October, as 128,242 more Spanish residents were without a job during the month.Nerves over Greece remain on edge as the coalition government brings the austerity package before the Athenian Parliament today. The smallest party in the coalition government - Democratic Left- has already pledged to vote against the €13.5bn in cuts due to its opposition to labour reforms. Even some members of the leading New Democracy party have announced plans to vote against the package. Lastly, an interesting observation from technical analysts at Charles Stanley as pertains to the Footsie: "The weekly candlestick chart below illustrates the extent to which the index has become rangebound and while further upside is possible there is clearly plenty of supply when it trades above 5900 - and it is still not clear what the catalyst might be to cause that situation to change."FTSE 100: Miners provide a dragMining 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. ENRC, Vedanta, Kazakhmys, Rio Tinto and Antofagasta were heavy fallers throughout Monday's session. Banking giant HSBC was 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. Shares of British American Tobacco were being boosted by news that the company, along with RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, are today requesting that Ontario's highest court throw out the $40bn lawsuit that was launched against the two companies 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 that it will launch a family clothing brand called Nutmeg next Easter, The Sunday Telegraph reported. FTSE 250: Centamin gives investors a big thumbs upInvestors in Egypt-focused gold miner Centamin showed their relief on Monday after the company announced that the Egyptian administrative court has decided that its Sukari mining licence is valid, eliminating the risk of losing its primary source of revenue. Centamin lost nearly 40% of its market capitalisation last week after media reports claimed on Tuesday that it could lose its concession agreement to mine Sukari. SDL shareholders welcomed the news that the CEO of the translation and communications software group is leaving the company with immediate effect to "pursue other business interests". John Hunter only stepped up from being Chief Financial Officer in February 2011. Mark Lancaster, currently Chairman of SDL will assume the role of CEO, while the company looks for a replacement. LED lighting group Dialight gained after securing a "major order" for 1,224 LED fixtures from an unnamed, Texas-based rig owner and operator. Data centre operator Telecity dropped despite saying that full-year earnings will be in line with market forecasts. Consensus estimates for the full year ending December 31st are for pre-tax profits of £81.66m on revenues of £284.35m. Shares in Dixons pulled back after a strong week for the company which came following news that its main High Street rival, Comet, is likely to go into administration.FTSE 100 - RisersWeir Group (WEIR) 1,831.00p +4.57%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,384.00p +1.65%British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,128.00p +0.98%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 170.70p +0.95%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 265.70p +0.72%Sage Group (SGE) 313.60p +0.61%Bunzl (BNZL) 1,021.00p +0.59%Serco Group (SRP) 569.50p +0.53%Tesco (TSCO) 326.45p +0.52%Croda International (CRDA) 2,175.00p +0.51%FTSE 100 - FallersEurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 321.30p -3.66%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,118.00p -3.62%ITV (ITV) 87.35p -2.40%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 717.50p -2.38%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,145.00p -2.15%Amec (AMEC) 1,062.00p -1.85%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,570.00p -1.81%Experian (EXPN) 1,060.00p -1.76%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 276.50p -1.71%Polymetal International (POLY) 1,110.00p -1.68%FTSE 250 - RisersCentamin (DI) (CEY) 74.55p +23.22%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 113.60p +5.19%Dialight (DIA) 1,175.00p +3.71%SDL (SDL) 539.00p +3.65%Paragon Group Of Companies (PAG) 253.40p +2.63%RPS Group (RPS) 242.50p +2.15%Redrow (RDW) 161.60p +1.89%Ashtead Group (AHT) 384.30p +1.34%KCOM Group (KCOM) 76.45p +1.26%Investec (INVP) 374.00p +1.11%FTSE 250 - FallersTelecity Group (TCY) 835.00p -8.54%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 215.80p -4.89%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 129.70p -4.21%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 119.50p -3.86%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 257.70p -3.63%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 24.91p -3.60%William Hill (WMH) 331.20p -3.50%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 465.00p -3.47%Homeserve (HSV) 227.20p -3.40%Computacenter (CCC) 349.90p -3.37%BC