London close: Stocks end lower on lacklustre UK GDP

London stocks ended lower on Thursday after uninspiring UK fourth quarter economic growth data.

The Office for National Statistics said UK gross domestic product rose 0.5% quarter-on-quarter in the final three months of 2015, up from 0.4% in the third quarter, as expected by analysts.

However, year-on-year GDP growth fell to 1.9% in the fourth quarter from 2.1% in the previous quarter.

GDP also slowed overall in 2015 to an annualised rate of 2.2% from 2.9% a year earlier.

“The preliminary estimate of UK GDP in Q4 confirmed that the recovery ended last year on a slightly lacklustre note, with growth a bit below its trend rate and still driven entirely by the services sector,” said Vicky Redwood, chief UK economist at Capital Economics.

Redwood said she believes growth was not strong enough to meet one of Bank of England Governor Mark Carney’s three conditions for raising interest rates.

The BoE announces its latest policy decision next Thursday but it is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 0.5% amid weak global growth and low inflation.

The Federal Open Market Committee also expressed concerns about the global economic slowdown, as it voted unanimously to maintain rates at 0.50% on Wednesday, as expected by analysts.

In the Fed’s accompanying statement, it said it was closely monitoring global economic and financial developments, providing little indication on when it might next raise rates.

US data on Thursday showed durable orders dropped 5.1% last month, more than the 0.7% that was forecast and compared to the 0.5% decrease in November, according to the Commerce Department.

US jobless claims fell by 16,000 to 278,000 in the week ending 23 January from an upwardly-revised 294,000 the previous week, the Labor Department revealed. Economists had been expecting claims to come in at 282,000.

US pending home sales nudged up just a touch in December, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. The NAR’s monthly index rose just 0.1% to 106.8 in December from a downwardly-revised 106.7 the previous month, as a large increase in the Northeast outpaced declines in the other three major regions. This fell well short of economists’ expectations for a 0.8% increase.

Elsewhere, consumer confidence in the Eurozone fell more than expected in January. The European Commission’s economic sentiment indicator slipped to 105 from 106.7 in December, falling short of economists’ expectations for a reading of 106.4.

Germany’s inflation, harmonised to compare with other European countries (HICP), rose an annualised 0.4% in January, as forecast by analysts, up from a 0.2% gain in December, preliminary data from the Federal Statistics Office showed.

Meanwhile, oil prices were sitting higher amid reports that Russia said it might cooperate with Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries to control the global oversupply. Brent crude rose 3.7% to $34.38 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate increased 3.4% to $33.45 per barrel at 1634 GMT.

Oil producers gained on the pick-up in crude prices, including Royal Dutch Shell, BP, BG Group, Tullow Oil and Petrofac.

BG Group and Shell were also given a boost by news that shareholders from both sides have approved their proposed merger. Shell’s £35bn takeover offer will create the world's largest liquefied natural gas trader.

Anglo American surged as investors welcomed its fourth quarter production report. Output for the three months rose 3% from the end of 2014 and the third quarter, while output for the year as a whole was up 5%.

Centrica’s shares slid after Societe Generale downgraded the stock to ‘sell’ from ‘hold’.

Melrose Industries plunged after it returned around £2.4bn in cash back to shareholders. The company gave 240p for each share held after the £3.3bn disposal of its Elster business to Honeywell International in December.

FirstGroup tumbled after the transport operator lowered its operating profit guidance for the current financial year amid a challenging trading environment.

Mitchells & Butlers advanced after the pub company reported strong Christmas and New Year sales limited the damage to its sales figures for the nine weeks to 23 January.

Kier Group jumped after saying full-year trading is in line with expectations, sending shares surging.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 5,927.10 -1.06%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,190.83 -0.55%
techMARK (TASX) 3,099.78 -1.72%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Anglo American (AAL) 275.90p 8.73%
Tesco (TSCO) 166.45p 3.39%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,496.00p 2.33%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 384.00p 2.29%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,495.00p 2.19%
BP (BP.) 368.45p 1.53%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 923.00p 1.48%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 679.60p 1.45%
BG Group (BG.) 1,043.50p 1.36%
Old Mutual (OML) 161.60p 1.19%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ashtead Group (AHT) 890.00p -7.77%
Carnival (CCL) 3,384.00p -6.42%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 524.50p -5.07%
Centrica (CNA) 200.20p -4.71%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 953.50p -4.22%
Shire Plc (SHP) 3,887.00p -4.02%
CRH (CRH) 1,793.00p -3.86%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,124.00p -3.85%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 215.30p -3.54%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,173.00p -3.46%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Vedanta Resources (VED) 236.40p 10.78%
Drax Group (DRX) 252.00p 7.42%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 163.50p 6.93%
Ted Baker (TED) 2,958.00p 5.30%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 924.50p 4.35%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 782.50p 4.33%
Cranswick (CWK) 2,069.00p 4.23%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 625.00p 3.73%
Kier Group (KIE) 1,259.00p 3.45%
Aggreko (AGK) 856.00p 3.44%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Melrose Industries (MRO) 290.60p -84.92%
FirstGroup (FGP) 90.30p -11.73%
Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 2,382.00p -5.63%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 342.80p -5.56%
PayPoint (PAY) 788.50p -5.00%
Home Retail Group (HOME) 143.00p -4.41%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 310.10p -4.26%
UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (UDG) 523.50p -4.12%
Supergroup (SGP) 1,451.00p -3.91%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,613.00p -3.70%