London midday: FTSE nudges lower as miners retreat

London stocks had nudged into the red by midday on Monday, with miners under the cosh after disappointing Chinese data.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 7,494.10.

Figures released earlier by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that retail sales rose 2.7% in July from the same month a year earlier, coming in well below analyst expectations of 4.9% growth and down from 3.1% in June.

Meanwhile industrial production was up 3.8% in July following a 3.9% jump in June and missing expectations for a 4.3% increase.

Fixed asset investment rose 5.7% from July 2021 following 6.1% in June and versus expectations for 6.2% growth.

On home shores, a survey from Rightmove showed that house prices dropped in August for the first time this year.

The average asking price fell 1.3% on the month to £365,173. Annual growth slowed to 8.2% in August from 9.3% in July.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of Property Science, said: "A drop in asking prices is to be expected this month, as the market returns towards normal seasonal patterns after a frenzied two years, and many would-be home movers become distracted by the summer holidays. Indeed, for those that can, this may be their first summer holiday abroad since before the pandemic.

"Sellers who want or need to move quickly at this time of year tend to price competitively in order to find a suitable buyer fast, with some hoping to complete their move in time to enjoy Christmas in a new home. To achieve that this year, they’d need to beat the current average time between accepting an offer and completing the sale of four and a half months.

"Nevertheless, we’re still expecting price changes for the rest of the year to continue to follow the usual seasonal pattern, which means we’ll end year at around 7% annual growth, even with the wider economic uncertainty."

In equity markets, miners were under pressure, with Anglo American, Antofagasta and Rio Tinto all lower.

Insurer Phoenix Group ticked down a touch despite saying it had delivered a record first-half performance and upping its dividend.

On the upside, RS Group - formerly Electrocomponents - surged after The Times reported over the weekend that it could be the subject of a takeover bid. It pointed to speculation of a possible £15 a share bid, which is a significant premium to the present share price and above the £12.35 high it hit last November before worries about a recession kicked in.

Drugmaker AstraZeneca gained after the drug maker said that its Enhertu drug, jointly produced with Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo, had been proven to offer statistically significant and clinically meaningful progression-free survival amongst breast cancer patients.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,494.10 -0.09%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,362.72 0.12%
techMARK (TASX) 4,388.02 0.26%

FTSE 100 - Risers

RS Group (RS1) 1,148.00p 5.51%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,000.00p 2.69%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,558.00p 1.66%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 3,620.00p 1.46%
Bunzl (BNZL) 3,162.00p 1.41%
Croda International (CRDA) 7,388.00p 1.40%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,286.00p 1.25%
SEGRO (SGRO) 1,088.50p 1.21%
Halma (HLMA) 2,301.00p 1.14%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,750.00p 1.10%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 2,893.00p -2.36%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,118.50p -2.27%
GSK (GSK) 1,418.60p -2.17%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,742.50p -2.10%
Shell (SHEL) 2,171.50p -1.96%
BP (BP.) 422.20p -1.94%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 141.70p -1.80%
Aveva Group (AVV) 2,409.00p -1.75%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 376.00p -1.67%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,754.00p -1.63%

FTSE 250 - Risers

888 Holdings (DI) (888) 155.80p 9.18%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,489.00p 5.65%
Indivior (INDV) 315.00p 3.28%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 362.60p 2.78%
ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 1,114.00p 2.77%
HGCapital Trust (HGT) 413.00p 2.61%
Diploma (DPLM) 2,770.00p 2.52%
JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 503.00p 2.03%
Fidelity Emerging Markets Limited Ptg NPV (FEML) 627.30p 2.00%
TP Icap Group (TCAP) 153.80p 1.92%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Auction Technology Group (ATG) 896.00p -4.78%
Energean (ENOG) 1,244.00p -3.34%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 50.35p -3.17%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 527.20p -3.12%
Darktrace (DARK) 413.60p -3.00%
Carnival (CCL) 772.40p -2.74%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 81.55p -2.74%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 150.90p -2.17%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 186.70p -2.10%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 93.04p -1.94%