London open: Shares head lower after China surprise

10th Mar 2011 08:23

Surprisingly weak data out of China this morning has sent shares lower overall, while a stream of company updates has been given a mixed reception.China posted a trade deficit of $7.3bn in February compared with the usual surplus, due mainly to the shutdown of factories during the Chinese New Year holiday, and higher commodity prices.Argos and Homebase owner Home Retail Group has lowered full year profit guidance as trading remains tough, especially at Argos. The shares are down 8%. The guidance range for the year just finished has been lowered to between £250m and £255m,versus market consensus of £260.9m. "There are clear signs of further pressures on consumer spending, with recent trading conditions, particularly at Argos, proving to be more difficult and volatile than we anticipated," said boss Terry Duddy.Supermarket Morrisons is also predicting tough times but it is bucking the downward trend today after it beat expectations in 2010 as its reputation for value had hard-pressed shoppers flocking to its stores. Underlying pre-tax profits totalled £874m for the year, ahead of estimates and up from £767m the previous year. Turnover climbed by 7% to £16.5bn.It expects higher taxes, government spending cuts, inflation and rising unemployment to continue weighing on consumer confidence in 2011, but says its value offering leaves it well positioned to deliver further profit growth.Meanwhile, struggling pubs group Punch Taverns is posting good gains after it claimed its turnaround campaign remains on track, with strong sales growth in its managed estate in the second quarter while trends in the leased estate improved in the second quarter. In a statement covering trading for the 12 weeks to 5 March, Punch said its managed estate enjoyed like for like (LFL) sales growth of 8.6% from the corresponding period a year earlier. That raised LFL sales growth for the first two quarters of the group's financial year up to 4.9%.Turning to companies with international exposure, Aggreko, the temporary electricity supplier that will power next year's London Olympics, falls back after saying it enjoyed a strong year in 2010, but warning that the current turmoil in the Arab world makes predicting this year's outcome difficult. Pre-tax profits were up by nearly a quarter from 2009 at £307.1m. Revenues were up by 20% to £1.23bn. The company was helped by its participation in some big events, including the football World Cup in South Africa and the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Standard Life is also lower, even after it reported a "good" 2010, with net adjusted inflows up 46%. The insurer says it's made a strong start to 2011. Excluding volatile and lower revenue yield UK money market funds and India cash funds, net inflows jumped to £8.3bn, with long-term savings net flows up 77% to £4.7bn. The UK's fourth-largest insurer reported IFRS operating profit before tax from continuing operations grew by 7% to £425m, and core European Embedded Value (EEV) increased 24% to £629m.FTSE 100 - RisersShire Plc (SHP) 1,797.00p +1.70%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,199.50p +1.31%Schroders (SDR) 1,815.00p +0.83%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 282.70p +0.78%Schroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 1,439.00p +0.70%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 1,989.00p +0.56%AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,974.00p +0.10%Diageo (DGE) 1,196.00p +0.08%British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,438.00p +0.06%Inmarsat (ISAT) 596.00p 0.00%FTSE 100 - FallersARM Holdings (ARM) 526.00p -8.36%Aggreko (AGK) 1,416.00p -4.90%Standard Life (SL.) 236.00p -3.56%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,536.00p -3.34%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 910.00p -3.04%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,311.50p -3.00%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,974.50p -2.78%Anglo American (AAL) 3,132.50p -2.67%Xstrata (XTA) 1,342.00p -2.65%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,344.00p -2.61%FTSE 250 - RisersPunch Taverns (PUB) 75.55p +6.41%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 140.70p +4.61%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 176.20p +2.32%Dignity (DTY) 728.00p +1.53%Soco International (SIA) 362.80p +1.34%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 309.00p +1.34%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 91.15p +1.33%Helical Bar (HLCL) 280.50p +1.15%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 51.00p +0.99%Laird (LRD) 157.70p +0.96%FTSE 250 - FallersHome Retail Group (HOME) 193.50p -8.25%Hansen Transmissions International NV (DI) (HSN) 41.00p -4.54%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 360.50p -3.87%Carpetright (CPR) 736.50p -3.73%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 640.00p -3.54%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 369.70p -3.47%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 202.00p -3.35%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 458.60p -2.82%Regus (RGU) 103.20p -2.46%CSR (CSR) 357.10p -2.43%