London close: Stocks end lower as UK construction PMI disappoints

London stocks edged lower on Wednesday after data revealed UK construction activity growth unexpectedly slowed in February.

The Markit/CIPS UK construction purchasing managers’ index fell to 54.2 from 55.0 in January. This was below forecasts for an increase to 55.5 and marked the lowest since April 2015.

Although still above the 50.0 mark that separates expansion from contraction, Markit said it pointed to one of the weakest rises in construction output seen over the past two-and-a-half years.

Howard Archer, chief European and UK economist at IHS Global Insight, said: “There are some positives for the construction sector going forward, but it is clearly vulnerable to confidence among clients being pressurised by heightened UK and global economic uncertainties. The looming 23 June referendum on UK membership of the EU adds to these uncertainties – especially given the tightness of opinion polls.”

The latest poll by ComRes showed 55% of Britons were worried a vote to leave the European Union will weaken the pound and 43% said the value of sterling will be an important factor in how they vote in the referendum in June.

Meanwhile, oil prices ended the session higher, rebounding from earlier declines.

Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported crude inventories rose by 10.4m barrels to a total of 518m barrels last week, well above the 3.6m barrel increase expected by analysts. On the upside, the IEA said oil production fell last week by about 25,000 barrels per day (bpd) to just over 9m barrels per day, down from a peak of 9.6m bpd in April, soothing concerns about a supply glut.

Brent crude rose 0.91% to $37.15 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate increased 1.17% to $34.18 per barrel at 1643 GMT.

In the US, the ADP National Employment Report revealed the private sector added more jobs than was expected in February, which could have implications for Friday's closely watched non-farm payrolls report.

According to the payrolls consultant, 214,000 jobs were added during the month, compared with the January figure of 193,000 revised down from the initial 205,000 and beating economists' expectations for 190,000. The ADP headline number beat forecasts in both previous reports in 2016.

In company news, ITV was in the red as it reported a 6% rise in annual pre-tax profits of £641m but warned that first quarter revenue would be flat.

Entertainment One plunged as it posted a 3% drop in group revenue for the nine months to 31 December.

Housebuilders Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey,Barratt Developments and Berkeley Group were down on the back of a weak construction purchasing managers’ survey in the morning, which was lower than forecasts predicted.

Miner Antofagasta was one of the stronger risers, as copper prices reached their highest level in more than three months. The metal was up 1.55% on the London Metal Exchange, hitting $4,789 per tonne, while prices in Shanghai were up 2.7% to CNY 36,820 per tonne.

Virgin Money gained as it reported full year pre-tax profits much higher than forecast and a healthier balance sheet.

Intertek declined as it reported a statutory loss in the full year due to the slump in oil and gas.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,147.09 -0.09%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,725.03 -0.38%
techMARK (TASX) 3,178.94 -0.94%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Anglo American (AAL) 525.70p 7.00%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 261.70p 5.87%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 454.85p 5.30%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 778.40p 5.13%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 509.50p 3.89%
Glencore (GLEN) 135.40p 3.75%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,007.50p 3.48%
Barclays (BARC) 162.40p 2.72%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 225.90p 2.50%
Shire Plc (SHP) 3,872.00p 2.49%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,865.00p -4.63%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,109.00p -4.22%
ITV (ITV) 240.90p -3.49%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,144.00p -3.16%
BT Group (BT.A) 481.80p -2.86%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 577.50p -2.86%
Relx plc (REL) 1,234.00p -2.68%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 3,354.00p -2.64%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 182.30p -2.62%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 6,503.00p -2.59%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Vedanta Resources (VED) 312.20p 12.71%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 427.70p 9.81%
Aldermore Group (ALD) 214.50p 7.30%
Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.) 364.00p 7.00%
AO World (AO.) 172.40p 6.42%
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 304.80p 6.35%
Laird (LRD) 364.30p 6.06%
Diploma (DPLM) 764.00p 4.80%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 760.50p 4.25%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 178.30p 4.03%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 149.40p -13.64%
Poundland Group (PLND) 169.90p -6.29%
Dignity (DTY) 2,413.00p -6.11%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 92.20p -5.53%
Bellway (BWY) 2,478.00p -4.62%
Inchcape (INCH) 723.00p -4.11%
Greggs (GRG) 1,148.00p -4.01%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 952.00p -3.30%
RPC Group (RPC) 718.50p -3.30%
Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 341.10p -3.29%