London open: Markets fall ahead of busy day for economic data

25th Jul 2013 08:29

Markets opened lower on Thursday morning as investors digested a raft of economic data and looked ahead to a series of key economic indicators due for release later on.The IFO survey on the business climate in Germany during July is due out this morning, along with the first estimate of second-quarter UK economic growth. The consensus forecast is for a slight pick-up in activity during the three months to June - in line with the robust economic data out of Britain over recent months - with growth rising from 0.3% in the first quarter to 0.6% in the second.In the States meanwhile, durable goods orders will be the key focus of the day, along with the weekly jobless claims figures.Forecast-beating manufacturing and home sales figures from America yesterday failed to give Wall Street benchmarks a boost last night.Matt Basi, Head of UK Sales Trading at CMC Markets, said: "With price-to-earnings valuations somewhat above long-term historical averages due to current low interest rates, better-than-expected data can have a negative valuation influence, offsetting improved earnings outlooks as traders begin to look forward to the beginning of the Fed tightening cycle.FTSE 100: Rolls-Royce up; Capita and Unilever downRolls-Royce Holdings rose strongly this morning after reporting a 34% jump in pre-tax profits to £840m for the first half as the engine maker secured more orders. Heading the other way was outsourcing firm Capita despite an in-line first half report as the stock pulled back sharply following its recent strong performance. "We believe that the current level of valuation requires a significant and sustained return to historical levels of organic growth that we believe will prove very challenging to deliver," said analyst Michael Donnelly from Westhouse this morning. Consumer products giant Unilever also fell after admitting in its interim results that the economic environment remains tough and growth in the emerging markets is starting to slow.Chemicals firm Johnson Matthey edged higher after saying that sales rose 13% in the first quarter, helped by growth across all divisions. Chip designer ARM Holdings was extending losses made yesterday after its first-half results.Miners were also providing a drag on the FTSE 100 this morning as metals prices fell. Fresnillo, Anglo American, Glencore Xstrata, Rio Tinto, Vedanta and BHP Billiton were among the worst performers.FTSE 100 - RisersRolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,214.00p +2.88%Reed Elsevier (REL) 816.00p +1.87%easyJet (EZJ) 1,400.00p +1.08%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,029.00p +0.78%United Utilities Group (UU.) 716.00p +0.77%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,234.00p +0.77%Barclays (BARC) 322.60p +0.64%Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,104.00p +0.29%Hammerson (HMSO) 533.00p +0.28%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 341.80p +0.18%FTSE 100 - FallersARM Holdings (ARM) 844.00p -5.01%Capita (CPI) 1,005.00p -3.09%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,037.00p -2.99%Anglo American (AAL) 1,402.50p -2.47%GKN (GKN) 333.00p -2.37%Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) 282.05p -1.81%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,876.00p -1.63%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,924.50p -1.55%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 840.00p -1.52%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,161.00p -1.36%FTSE 250 - RisersLancashire Holdings (LRE) 809.50p +3.38%Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 284.20p +3.16%QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 189.90p +2.59%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 27.53p +2.38%Halma (HLMA) 534.50p +2.30%Bumi (BUMI) 230.00p +2.22%Devro (DVO) 305.50p +2.17%Bodycote (BOY) 590.00p +1.55%Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,821.00p +1.45%Perform Group (PER) 510.00p +1.19%FTSE 250 - FallersMitchells & Butlers (MAB) 395.10p -7.43%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 267.00p -4.98%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 108.40p -4.16%Marston's (MARS) 158.40p -3.71%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 167.20p -3.24%Evraz (EVR) 102.60p -3.12%AZ Electronic Materials SA (DI) (AZEM) 316.90p -2.97%COLT Group SA (COLT) 104.50p -2.88%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 169.90p -2.86%CSR (CSR) 587.00p -2.25%BC