London open: Iraq conflict dampens stocks, but miners gain

23rd Jun 2014 08:31

- Iraq conflict intensifies as rebels take more ground- Mining stocks gain on China data- Shire pulls back after Friday's jump- ASOS warehouse fire dents sharestechMARK 2,846.92 -0.49%FTSE 100 6,795.76 -0.43%FTSE 250 15,731.14 -0.38%UK stocks fell on Monday morning as upbeat economic data from China was outweighed by heightened tensions in Iraq as ISIS militants took control of more towns over the weekend.Despite strength in the heavyweight mining sector, the FTSE 100 declined 0.4% to 6,796 in early trading.Oil prices continued to rise this morning after President Barack Obama warned that the Iraq crisis could spill over into other neighbouring regions. Iraq is the second-largest crude producer in the OPEC regions.Rebels captured border crossings to Syria and Jordan after continued fighting on Sunday.US Secretary of State John Kerry, who has today travelled to Baghdad, said that the rebels' "ideology of violence and repression is a threat not only to Iraq but to the entire region".Brent crude, already trading at levels not seen since last year, was up a further 0.5% at $115.41 a barrel this morning.Mining stocks rose strongly in London after manufacturing data from China showed that the sector expanded for the first time in six months. The HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose from 49.4 to 50.8 in June, ahead of the consensus forecast of 49.7. "This month's improvement is consistent with data suggesting that the authorities' mini-stimulus is filtering through to the real economy," said Qu Hongbin, HSBC's Chief Economist for China. He said he expected policymakers to "continue their current path of accommodative policy stance until the recovery is sustained".Miners riseRio Tinto, Anglo American, Antofagasta and BHP Billiton were all making decent gains today after the improved economic data from China, the world's top metals user.Shire was among the worst performers as the stock pulled back after a jump on Friday following a rejected £27bn takeover proposal from AbbVie. Shire is to host a investor call later today and is expected launch a charm offensive to convince shareholders that it should continue as an independent company.Online retailer ASOS fell on the news that it was forced to suspend its website after a fire at a key warehouse in Barnsley over the weekend. The incident, which police are treating as "deliberate", is said to have "comprised" 20% of ASOS' stock at the distribution facility.Housebuilders were also under the weather with Barratt Developments, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Bovis Homes trading lower.FTSE 100 - RisersARM Holdings (ARM) 913.00p +2.70%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,144.00p +2.16%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,923.50p +1.16%Anglo American (AAL) 1,472.00p +1.06%Antofagasta (ANTO) 778.00p +0.97%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,318.00p +0.56%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,271.00p +0.47%Pearson (PSON) 1,124.00p +0.45%William Hill (WMH) 342.10p +0.38%National Grid (NG.) 846.50p +0.36%FTSE 100 - FallersBarratt Developments (BDEV) 350.60p -2.77%Persimmon (PSN) 1,205.00p -2.03%Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,363.00p -2.01%Ashtead Group (AHT) 839.00p -1.87%Carnival (CCL) 2,259.00p -1.74%Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,604.00p -1.47%easyJet (EZJ) 1,431.00p -1.45%Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,160.00p -1.44%Shire Plc (SHP) 4,309.00p -1.42%Next (NXT) 6,270.00p -1.34%FTSE 250 - RisersFerrexpo (FXPO) 126.80p +4.11%Renishaw (RSW) 1,639.00p +2.76%BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 1,957.00p +1.93%Pace (PIC) 360.90p +1.89%Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,096.00p +1.76%KCOM Group (KCOM) 93.50p +1.74%Rank Group (RNK) 178.80p +1.71%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 4,896.00p +1.37%RPC Group (RPC) 631.50p +1.36%Debenhams (DEB) 71.75p +1.34%FTSE 250 - FallersBarr (A.G.) (BAG) 651.50p -3.05%Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 810.00p -2.53%Bellway (BWY) 1,434.00p -2.52%Foxtons Group (FOXT) 273.50p -2.29%Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 744.00p -2.04%Ocado Group (OCDO) 361.20p -1.93%Provident Financial (PFG) 2,218.00p -1.90%JPMorgan American Inv Trust (JAM) 247.40p -1.83%Infinis Energy (INFI) 236.00p -1.79%Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 759.00p -1.68%BC