London open: Stocks flat despite upbeat data from China

9th Nov 2012 08:32

Cyclical stocks such as miners and banks were limiting gains on the FTSE 100 on Friday morning as the benchmark index attempted to recover from a two-day sell-off on the back of concerns for the global economy.Worries about the impending US 'fiscal cliff' and Greece's bailout have taken their toll on stock markets this week.While Greek policy-makers voted in favour of the country's harsh austerity measures on Wednesday night, sentiment has been shaken after reports suggested yesterday that the decision on whether to release the next tranche of the country's bailout won't come next week. An EU official has said that ministers will not decide until late November as they wait for a final report from the Troika on how Greece is complying with the terms of its bailout.Nevertheless, helping to offset the gloom this morning was economic data from China where industrial production and retail figures came in better than forecast, "providing further evidence that the Chinese economy might be in the early stages of a turnaround," said Markus Huber, head of German HNM trading at ETX Capital."Furthermore consumer prices continue to fall giving China some more leeway to put in place additional measures like rate cuts and economic growth programmes to boost growth in the months ahead," he said.FTSE 100: Investors pleased with IAG's plan for IberiaIAG rose was flying higher after revealing details of a "transformation plan" to get its loss-making Spanish airline Iberia back on track, which includes the laying off of 4,500 employees. To accompany its third-quarter results which showed a sharp decline in its bottom line, the company said that a restructuring is needed to "save" Iberia and return it to profitability. Mining and financial stocks were among the worst performers this morning, with ENRC, EVRAZ, Aviva and Old Mutual providing a drag.Engine and power systems giant Rolls-Royce edged higher after maintaining its outlook for the full year despite lowering its assumptions for underlying growth in the Marine division.Real estate investment trust Hammerson was flat after saying it remains "cautious" about the economic outlook in the UK and Europe, even as it completed its strategic move from office landlord to retail landlord. Shares in water group Pennon were on the up after HSBC upgraded its rating on the stock to 'overweight'. In contrast, accountancy software firm Sage was hit by a downgrade from Investec to 'sell'.FTSE 250: Michael Page lifted by upgradeRecruitment company Michael Page International was performing well this morning after UBS raised its recommendation for the shares to 'buy' and hiked its target price from 400p to 450p.Pest control firm Rentokil declined after saying that "challenging conditions across Europe" limited revenue growth in the third quarter. Sales were up just 1.6% in the three months to the end of September.Inter-dealer broker Tullett Prebon tanked after reporting a big drop in revenue in the four months to October on subdued market activity.FTSE 100 - RisersAdmiral Group (ADM) 1,060.00p +4.02%Croda International (CRDA) 2,251.00p +1.86%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 170.50p +1.49%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,228.00p +1.15%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 649.50p +1.09%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 737.00p +0.96%SABMiller (SAB) 2,678.50p +0.89%Experian (EXPN) 1,057.00p +0.86%British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,200.50p +0.83%Bunzl (BNZL) 1,024.00p +0.79%FTSE 100 - FallersEurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 287.50p -2.41%Evraz (EVR) 239.60p -1.16%Anglo American (AAL) 1,862.50p -1.14%Aviva (AV.) 326.70p -1.09%Old Mutual (OML) 167.00p -0.95%BP (BP.) 426.50p -0.87%British Land Co (BLND) 520.50p -0.86%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 681.00p -0.80%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 236.00p -0.72%Polymetal International (POLY) 1,110.00p -0.72%FTSE 250 - RisersMichael Page International (MPI) 376.20p +5.03%Bumi (BUMI) 284.00p +3.76%Renishaw (RSW) 1,798.00p +1.93%Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 153.50p +1.66%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 750.21p +1.38%Diploma (DPLM) 440.00p +1.15%Rotork (ROR) 2,361.00p +0.98%Berendsen (BRSN) 575.50p +0.96%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 192.20p +0.89%Sports Direct International (SPD) 396.00p +0.89%FTSE 250 - FallersTalvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 113.40p -6.74%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 247.80p -5.42%Rentokil Initial (RTO) 84.95p -3.52%Redrow (RDW) 157.80p -2.35%Anite (AIE) 138.00p -2.34%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 259.10p -2.26%IP Group (IPO) 110.30p -1.96%Savills (SVS) 402.70p -1.92%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 24.30p -1.70%Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,106.00p -1.69%BC