London midday: FTSE in the red on mixed earnings, data

The FTSE 100 slipped into the red on the back of a flat session in Asian markets, mixed earnings releases and economic data.

Asian stocks were mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index ending higher on upbeat reports on housing starts and construction orders but Shanghai fell on reports that some of the world’s largest companies have sounded the alarm over the slowdown in the Chinese economy, warning that weaker growth would hit profits in the second half of the year.

In Europe, German retail sales rose 5.1% in June, beating expectations for a 4% increase. Compared to a month ago, sales dropped 2.3%, ahead of forecasts for a 0.3% gain.

Eurozone inflation held steady in July as expected by analysts, as falling energy prices were offset by rises in industrial goods. The consumer price index remained at 0.2%, according to the flash estimate from the EU’s statistics agency Eurostat.

Meanwhile, Greece remained in focus as talks between the country and the European Union and International Monetary Fund over a third bailout were underway. It came as the media reported that the IMF had cast severe doubts on the Greek government’s ability to carry out radical reforms. In a leaked four-page staff assessment, the IMF’s executive board was told the world’s “lender of last resort” could no longer continue pumping more money into the debtor country.

In the US, the Chicago PMI is due at 1445 BST and University of Michigan sentiment at 1500 BST.

On the London company front, Lloyds Banking Group declined as the lender reported its first half results and set aside an extra £1.4bn provision for PPI mis-selling, which was higher than analysts expected.

ITV gained as US media giant Liberty Global upped its stake in the broadcaster to just under 10%.

In the oil and gas sector, BG Group rallied after posting a slump in second-quarter earnings that were better than analysts had forecast and reporting record oil and gas output.

Elsewhere in the resources space, Chilean miner Antofagasta saw its shares fall after it announced that it had agreed to a $1.01bn deal to acquire a 50% interest in the Zaldivar copper mine from Barrick Gold. The immediately earnings-enhancing deal will be funded from the company balance sheet and consists of $980m upon closing and five annual payments of $5m per year, starting in 2016.

Royal Bank of Scotland declined on news the government is set to launch the first sale of its shares since the lender’s £46bn taxpayer-funded rescue nearly seven years ago, marking the beginning of the bank’s return to private ownership. Bankers have been sounding out investors for the past week about a sale of RBS stock that could begin in the next few days.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,194.95 +0.15%
FTSE 100 6,665.00 -0.06%
FTSE 250 17,561.34 +0.23%

FTSE 100 - Risers
ITV (ITV) 278.30p +2.47%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,093.00p +2.05%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,025.00p +1.96%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 2,234.00p +1.82%
Royal Mail (RMG) 501.00p +1.66%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 635.50p +1.60%
Relx plc (REL) 1,113.00p +1.46%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 193.10p +1.42%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,792.50p +1.40%
Experian (EXPN) 1,192.00p +1.36%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 555.50p -4.31%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,656.00p -3.17%
Glencore (GLEN) 205.35p -2.68%
Anglo American (AAL) 787.70p -2.23%
Fresnillo (FRES) 631.00p -2.17%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 84.18p -2.14%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 3,738.00p -1.97%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 532.00p -1.84%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,527.00p -1.80%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,117.00p -1.59%

FTSE 250 - Risers
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 802.00p +7.43%
UBM (UBM) 536.50p +5.82%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 291.70p +4.18%
Henderson Group (HGG) 280.40p +3.16%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 492.70p +3.05%
Betfair Group (BET) 2,771.00p +2.90%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,766.00p +2.83%
Grafton Group Units (GFTU) 715.00p +2.58%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 377.50p +2.28%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 342.80p +2.27%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Essentra (ESNT) 878.50p -8.49%
Lonmin (LMI) 50.30p -6.51%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 160.00p -5.55%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 119.60p -5.00%
Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 285.70p -3.48%
IMI (IMI) 1,046.00p -2.97%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 237.60p -2.94%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,181.00p -2.80%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 409.20p -2.73%
Premier Oil (PMO) 133.20p -2.35%

FTSE TechMARK - Risers
UCW Limited (UCW) A$0.01 +9.09%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 9.49p +5.44%
Torotrak (TRK) 7.00p +1.45%
KCOM Group (KCOM) 95.00p +0.53%
NCC Group (NCC) 235.25p +0.32%
Sepura (SEPU) 156.00p +0.32%
Consort Medical (CSRT) 933.50p +0.16%

FTSE TechMARK - Fallers
RM (RM.) 167.00p -4.43%
Dialight (DIA) 542.00p -1.63%
Innovation Group (TIG) 32.00p -0.78%
E2V Technologies (E2V) 226.25p -0.33%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 93.50p -0.27%
Anite (AIE) 125.50p -0.20%
Skyepharma (SKP) 278.25p -0.18%
IShares Euro Gov Bond 7-10YR UCITS ETF (IEGM) € 200.84 -0.13%