London open: Chinese data weighs on stocks

23rd Nov 2011 08:31

The Footsie fell below the 5,200 level early on, as some gloomy data from China dampened the mood.Weighing on sentiment today is the poor data out from China, which showed factory activity levels dropping to their lowest in 32 months. The HSBC flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI), measuring industrial activity in China, fell to 48 this month, from 51 in October. A measure below 50 indicates contraction, but market consensus was expecting a figure close to 50.1.According to Hongbin Qu, chief China and Asia economist at HSBC, "The dipping headline manufacturing PMI implies that industrial production growth is likely to slow further, to 11-12% year on year in the coming months, as domestic demand cools and external demand is set to weaken despite the still resilient new export orders."On a more positive note, the International Monetary Fund yesterday rolled out two new credit facilities for its member countries aimed at helping them to counteract fears of financial contagion. Initial market reaction to that decision however appears to have been rather tepid. COMPASS LEADS THE RISERS Contract caterer Compass saw its underlying profits before tax burst through the billion pounds barrier for the full year ended 30 September. The firm achieved a 10.6% increase in underlying profit from £922m to £1.02bn (reported profit before tax: £958m from £913m). Revenue rose 9.4% from £14.47bn to £15.83bn.Chemicals firm Johnson Matthey was next in line after estimate-beating first-half earnings helped it to hike it dividend.Water group United Utilities fell lower after first-half underlying profits fell from £195m to £185m.MINERS PROVIDE A DRAGRio Tinto fell lower despite receiving the all-clear from the Canadian Competition Bureau for its offer to purchase uranium developer Hathor Exploration for £402m.Anglo American underwhelmed the market, falling lower despite saying that it has completed the first copper production from the huge expansion project at its Los Bronces mine in central Chile.Sector peers Xstrata and Vedanta were also out of favour, weighed down by worries over demand from China.FTSE 250: THOMAS COOK CLAWS BACK, JD SEES SLOWDOWNThomas Cook rose 10% in the opening minutes, as it attempted to recover from its +70% tumble yesterday after saying that it was in talks with its banks about borrowing more money. The Times warned the firm's customers this morning to make sure that they have "robust financial protection" in case the company goes bust.High street sports retailer JD Sports Fashion has seen the growth of like-for-like (LFL) sales slow down in the sixteen weeks ended 19 November due to the ongoing troubles facing the everyday consumer. Since the end of the first half, LFL sales grew by just 0.2% from the same period last year, well under the 3.3% LFL sales growth reported in the first seven weeks of the period. Pub group Mitchells & Butlers edged higher after its largest shareholder, Piedmont, has not ruled out launching a fresh takeover offer for the company despite ongoing concerns about its business, according to the Financial Times.BCFTSE 100 - RisersCompass Group (CPG) 569.50p +1.70%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,787.00p +0.96%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,915.00p +0.58%British Land Co (BLND) 463.00p +0.43%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,347.50p +0.30%SSE (SSE) 1,260.00p +0.24%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 295.00p +0.24%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,249.00p +0.18%British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,851.00p +0.16%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,176.00p +0.16%FTSE 100 - FallersMeggitt (MGGT) 354.90p -4.67%Man Group (EMG) 133.00p -3.20%Xstrata (XTA) 867.40p -2.20%Vedanta Resources (VED) 934.00p -2.20%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 18.03p -2.12%Next (NXT) 2,643.00p -1.93%Carnival (CCL) 2,003.00p -1.81%United Utilities Group (UU.) 600.00p -1.64%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,291.00p -1.53%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,715.00p -1.49%FTSE 250 - RisersThomas Cook Group (TCG) 11.19p +9.71%QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 124.50p +7.24%Big Yellow Group (BYG) 247.00p +3.17%AG Barr (BAG) 1,146.00p +1.42%Phoenix Group Holdings (DI) (PHNX) 522.00p +1.36%Exillon Energy (EXI) 273.50p +1.22%Carpetright (CPR) 400.00p +1.04%Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 170.70p +0.83%Mitie Group (MTO) 247.20p +0.82%TUI Travel (TT.) 137.80p +0.80%FTSE 250 - FallersJD Sports Fashion (JD.) 766.00p -6.01%Lancashire Holdings (LRE) 702.50p -5.83%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 13.75p -5.04%Mothercare (MTC) 130.40p -4.89%Halfords Group (HFD) 318.50p -3.75%Chemring Group (CHG) 356.90p -3.23%Logica (LOG) 68.45p -2.98%BTG (BGC) 277.10p -2.91%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 487.80p -2.83%Regus (RGU) 76.90p -2.66%