London midday: UK stocks on track for two-week low as factory data disappoints

UK stocks dropped on Monday and were set to close at their lowest level in over two weeks as disappointing economic data and weaker oil prices pushed shares in the resource sectors lower.

Aberdeen Asset Management was a standout riser after impressing with its annual results, but oil producers and miners were providing a drag, along with telecoms heavyweight Vodafone.

The FTSE 100 was down 1% at 6,657 by midday. It has not closed below this mark since 14 November when it settled at 6,654.37.

Sentiment was dampened early on after the official Chinese manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to an eight-month low of 50.3 last month. The final reading of HSBC's own manufacturing PMI for China was also confirmed at a six-month low 50, the mark which separates expansion from contraction.

Meanwhile, the final reading of the November Eurozone manufacturing PMI was unexpectedly revised to 50.1 from the initial reading of 50.4, with German factory output declining.

On a more positive note, the UK manufacturing PMI came in ahead of expectations, rising to 53.5 in November; analysts had expected a small decline from October's 53.3.

However, other figures showed that British mortgage approvals fell for the fourth month in a row to a 16-month low in October.

Resource stocks lead the slide

Continued downwards pressure on oil prices hit oil producers on Monday. West Texas Intermediate dropped below $65 per barrel, its lowest since July 2009, while Brent was trading at under $68, its lowest since October 2009.

Tullow Oil was leading the decline in the oil sector after a downgrade from JPMorgan Cazenove to 'neutral'. The bank more than halved its target price for the stock from 1,000p to just 495p. JPMorgan also cut its ratings for FTSE 250 peers Ophir, Enquest and Afren.

Oil and gas firm BG Group slumped after revising the remuneration package for its new chief executive Helge Lund, following intense pressure from shareholders. The company had originally proposed a £25m package for its new boss, but has now decided to give him £10.6m in shares.

Blue-chip miners such as BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Antofagasta were also suffering heavy losses.

Vodafone was trading firmly in the red on the back of weekend reports that management has held talks with Tesco about buying its loss-making pay-TV service, Blinkbox.

Leading the risers list was asset manager Aberdeen as annual underlying profits inched higher in the year to 30 September despite a "more challenging environment". The company hiked its dividend by over a tenth.

Balfour Beatty was also on the rise after John Laing Infrastructure Fund announced it is planning to make a non-binding proposal to Balfour's board for its public-private partnership portfolio for around £1bn in cash.

Market Movers
techMARK 2,926.35 -0.72%
FTSE 100 6,656.83 -0.98%
FTSE 250 15,723.15 -0.81%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 473.40p +5.22%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 468.20p +2.34%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 856.00p +1.60%
SSE (SSE) 1,659.00p +1.16%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,102.00p +1.10%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 427.70p +1.04%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 667.00p +0.98%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,353.00p +0.81%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 492.20p +0.76%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 3,220.00p +0.53%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Tullow Oil (TLW) 398.60p -6.43%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 222.90p -4.72%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,470.00p -3.10%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,122.00p -3.03%
BG Group (BG.) 873.50p -2.97%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 912.00p -2.68%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,287.00p -2.61%
TUI Travel (TT.) 433.30p -2.56%
SABMiller (SAB) 3,476.00p -2.47%
Old Mutual (OML) 195.40p -2.45%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 191.30p +4.36%
William Hill (WMH) 349.10p +4.21%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 304.00p +4.18%
Croda International (CRDA) 2,537.00p +3.38%
SSP Group (SSPG) 272.90p +3.25%
Brit (BRIT) 252.00p +1.33%
Foxtons Group (FOXT) 153.60p +1.25%
Ladbrokes (LAD) 112.50p +1.08%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 316.90p +0.92%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 601.50p +0.92%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Afren (AFR) 46.71p -9.74%
EnQuest (ENQ) 46.32p -6.56%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 88.75p -5.38%
Soco International (SIA) 270.10p -4.59%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 138.80p -4.47%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 698.00p -4.32%
Bodycote (BOY) 614.50p -4.28%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 900.50p -3.64%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 464.70p -3.19%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 337.00p -3.16%