London close: Stocks finish up after slate of factory PMIs

The FTSE ended on a positive note but off its best levels of the day as investors sifted through a batch of manufacturing data in the UK, China and the US.

The top flight index edged higher by 10.86 points to finish the session at 6,072.47.

Markit’s purchasing managers’ index on UK manufacturing fell to 51.5 in September from a revised reading of 51.6 in August, although it beat analysts’ estimates of 51.3 and was above the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction.

“The September purchasing managers’ survey indicates that UK manufacturers continue to find life very challenging,” said Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight.

“Certainly as far as the manufacturing sector is concerned, there is a case for the Bank of England to hold off from any interest rate hike until well into 2016.”

In China, the government’s official manufacturing PMI rose unexpectedly to 49.8 in September from a reading of 49.7 for August, indicating a contraction.

Separately, a private survey by Caixin/Markit revealed a drop in PMI manufacturing in September to 47.2 from 47.3 a month earlier. September’s reading marked an upward revision from the initial estimate of 47, which analysts had expected to remain unchanged.

“These numbers still paint a picture of an economy where the recent easing measures do not appear to showing any evidence of a trickledown effect in the hard data, raising the prospect of further measures in the coming weeks,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

The Institute for Supply Management revealed its manufacturing index declined from 51.1 to 50.2 in August, falling below the 50.6 reading analysts had expected. The figure marked the lowest reading since May 2013.

The headline seasonally-adjusted Markit manufacturing PMI in September edged up to 53.1 compared with the 53.0 reading reported in the flash estimate published last week. Analysts had been expecting no change.

In other US data, the Labor Department revealed the number of first time unemployment benefits claimants rose by 10,000 to 277,000 in the week to 26 September, compared with analysts' expectations for a 270,000 reading. It comes ahead of the all-important non-farm payrolls report on Friday which may influence the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision this month.

The Fed is taking into consideration a wide range of data in determining when to raise interest rates, which many rate-setters believe will occur this year.

Fed official John Williams, who has called for an interest rate hike in 2015, will speak after close of trading in Salt Lake City. Williams on Monday signalled that the Fed should not wait much longer to raise rates.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal´s John Hilsenrath, Richmond Fed president Jeffrey Lacker said he did not see why interest rates might not be hiked at the US central bank´s policy meeting in October.

In company news, London Stock Exchange Group led the risers after Barclays upgraded rival sharemarket organiser and transaction services provider Deutsche Boerse from ‘underweight’ to ‘overweight’.

Pearson headed north after Citigroup reinstated coverage of the stock at ‘buy’ with a 1,425p price target, pointing to the scope for improved revenue trends, better free cash flow and potential for accretive cash usage.

Johnson Matthey jumped after completing the sale of its Alfa Aesar Research Chemicals business to Thermo Fisher Scientific for £256m in cash.

Oil producers, including BP and Royal Dutch Shell, edged up as oil prices rose after data showed an increase in global demand over the first half of the year. Estimates from the Joint Oil Data Initiative revealed that across 59 countries an average of 71.4m barrels were used per day over the six month period, up 3.3% year-on-year.

Tullow Oil rallied after saying its lending banks have completed the routine six-monthly reserve-based lend redetermination process and available debt capacity remains unchanged at $3.7bn.

Glencore reversed earlier gains on renewed concerns about the mining company’s debt.

Supermarkets were also in the red, snapping Wednesday’s gains on upbeat interims from J Sainsbury.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,010.31 +0.02%
FTSE 100 6,072.47 +0.18%
FTSE 250 16,763.65 +0.48%

FTSE 100 - Risers
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 2,507.00p +3.64%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,251.00p +2.71%
BP (BP.) 342.25p +2.47%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,601.00p +2.43%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,029.00p +2.39%
Pearson (PSON) 1,152.00p +2.22%
Fresnillo (FRES) 604.50p +2.20%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,587.00p +2.12%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 3,932.00p +1.81%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,471.00p +1.65%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Centrica (CNA) 221.50p -3.36%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 161.60p -2.71%
Tesco (TSCO) 178.25p -2.70%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 204.30p -1.99%
Wolseley (WOS) 3,782.00p -1.97%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 256.00p -1.92%
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 3,356.00p -1.67%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,588.50p -1.50%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 580.00p -1.36%
Royal Mail (RMG) 452.90p -1.29%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Tullow Oil (TLW) 185.40p +9.64%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,214.00p +8.69%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 95.20p +5.95%
Cranswick (CWK) 1,689.00p +5.83%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 89.15p +5.32%
Allied Minds (ALM) 369.10p +4.86%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 119.70p +3.46%
IP Group (IPO) 237.80p +3.39%
Evraz (EVR) 75.25p +3.22%
Henderson Group (HGG) 268.10p +3.04%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
AA (AA.) 274.50p -3.14%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 81.80p -2.85%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 383.00p -2.77%
Poundland Group (PLND) 273.50p -2.32%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 352.00p -2.22%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 381.50p -2.20%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 753.00p -2.14%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 345.00p -2.10%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 308.00p -2.07%
Fidessa Group (FDSA) 1,758.00p -2.01%