London midday: StanChart and HSBC lower on Hong Kong protests

29th Sep 2014 11:36

London's blue chip stocks were holding slightly lower come midday ahead of the release of the latest figures on personal income and spending Stateside, as traders kept an eye on recent events in Hong Kong.That comes in what is expected to be a very busy week both at home and abroad in terms of economic data and events, particularly in the latter half, what with the European Central Bank due to hold a policy meeting and ahead of the latest US non-farm payrolls figures.As of 12:03 the Footsie was lower by 14 points to 6,636.Jameel Ahmad, chief market analyst for FXTM said that the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong which dragged down the markets could lead to further losses in Hong Kong and China."There has always been anxiety that the US Federal Reserve concluding Quantitative Easing and moving towards normalizing monetary policy would have an adverse impact on emerging market currencies and a period of unrest occurring in Hong Kong will only accelerate a decline in the HKD."A spokesman for Standard Chartered told Sharecast that so far it was "business as usual" and some residents of the special administrative region corroborated that.Even so, some experts warned of the long-term effects which curtailing civil liberties would have on Hong Kong's competitiveness, especially versus Shanghai.UK mortgage approvals for home purchase eased to 64,212 in August from 66,100 in July (consensus: 65,000), according to the latest data provided by the Bank of England."The Bank of England data reinforce the impression that housing market activity is seeing an underlying loss of momentum," wrote Dr Howard Archer, chief European+UK economist at IHS Global Insight.HSBC and Standard Chartered lower as HK drag into the eveningIn company news, shares of oil field services outfit Petrofac were leading gains on the on the top flights index throughout much of the morning, on the heels of an upgrade out of Credit Suisse to 'outperform' from 'neutral'. The Swiss broker believes that the company's stock offers compelling value given that it is now at four-year lows.Pearson and Apple have been dropped from a $1bn project for digital textbooks in the US after the companies were found to have contacted officials during the tender process, the Sunday Telegraph said. The former's shares are now leading to the downside on the Footsie.Standard Chartered and HSBC Holdings joined Pearson at the bottom of the pile as the protests in Hong Kong seemed to be dragging into the night. The protesters are upset at reforms that will allow direct elections but only from a pool of candidates approved by Beijing.Tesco was the subject of widespread coverage in the Sunday papers, most of it negative. The company's chief executive, Dave Lewis, will meet big investors this week to reassure them he is doing everything possible to get the company back on track, the Sunday Express reported. For its part, the FT's Lex column pointed out that it was still too soon to buy in on fundamental grounds.Emerging markets focused asset manager Aberdeen saw assets under management (AuM) rise by 3% in the two months to 31 August, as the rate of net outflows moderated considerably. Net outflows over the last two months amounted to just £1.7bn, after a drain of £8.8bn in the two months prior. Executives at the fund manager also highlighted that the integration of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) was progressing as scheduled.Despite the on-going, yet limited, disruptions to trading as a result of the 'sequestration' of US federal government expenditure, defence contractor BAE Systems maintained its full-year earnings outlook. In its latest interim management statement for the three months ended 28 September, the group revealed that its order intake for the year to 23 August was at £7.9bn, with £2.6bn of that originating from non-UK/US markets.New business wins, good retention rates and price increases all helped Compass Group achieve a good performance in the fourth quarter. For the full year, organic revenue growth at constant currency is expected to be 4% and the operating profit margin is expected to increase by 10 basis points, the company said.Market MoverstechMARK 2,807.27 -0.11%FTSE 100 6,628.17 -0.32%FTSE 250 15,345.24 -0.25%FTSE 100 - RisersPetrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,033.00p +2.28%Sports Direct International (SPD) 634.50p +2.26%Compass Group (CPG) 976.00p +1.56%Tullow Oil (TLW) 658.00p +1.31%Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,342.00p +1.28%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 404.30p +1.20%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,268.00p +1.20%Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,085.00p +1.02%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 933.00p +0.97%Persimmon (PSN) 1,337.00p +0.91%FTSE 100 - FallersStandard Chartered (STAN) 1,152.50p -1.87%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 638.10p -1.86%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 414.50p -1.71%Tesco (TSCO) 188.75p -1.46%Pearson (PSON) 1,216.00p -1.38%Prudential (PRU) 1,404.00p -1.37%Anglo American (AAL) 1,388.00p -1.32%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,050.50p -1.28%easyJet (EZJ) 1,376.00p -1.22%Fresnillo (FRES) 752.50p -1.18%FTSE 250 - RisersAfren (AFR) 103.80p +3.49%EnQuest (ENQ) 109.50p +3.40%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 815.50p +2.58%Poundland Group (PLND) 317.30p +2.35%Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,027.00p +1.99%Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 341.30p +1.94%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 121.50p +1.93%Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,049.00p +1.75%Keller Group (KLR) 885.50p +1.66%AL Noor Hospitals Group (ANH) 1,086.00p +1.59%FTSE 250 - FallersBalfour Beatty (BBY) 180.90p -19.56%Just Retirement Group (JRG) 127.00p -7.30%De La Rue (DLAR) 469.30p -6.88%COLT Group SA (COLT) 134.80p -3.51%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 230.50p -2.99%Evraz (EVR) 123.60p -2.75%Interserve (IRV) 588.00p -2.73%Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 299.50p -2.54%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 263.40p -2.44%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 115.50p -2.37%