London midday: Oil and commodity producers push UK stocks lower

UK stocks dropped as a measure of oil and commodity producers declined.

BP and Royal Dutch Shell were in the red as oil prices fell towards six-year lows on Monday after data showed Japan's economy contracted and US producers added drilling rigs despite a recent slump in the industry. BG Group and Weir Group, which provide engineering services to the oil sector, also slipped.

Mining giant Glencore dipped ahead of the release of the company’s first half results on Wednesday as the group contends with lower commodity prices.

Rio Tinto was also on the back foot as copper prices fell.

BoE’s Forbes on interest rates

Bank of England official Kristin Forbes warned on Sunday that waiting too long to lift rates could hurt economic recovery and will need to be done "well before" inflation reaches the central bank’s 2% target.

Forbes wrote in the Telegraph saying that while raising rates too soon could deter companies from investing and customers from spending, holding back too long was also a risk.

"Maintaining interest rates at the current low levels during an expansion risks creating distortions," she wrote in an article for Monday's paper, published online on Sunday.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,169.49 -0.10%
FTSE 100 6,544.26 -0.10%
FTSE 250 17,605.82 -0.09%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 580.00p +1.84%
Wolseley (WOS) 4,265.00p +1.38%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,175.00p +1.12%
Anglo American (AAL) 763.90p +0.94%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,453.00p +0.90%
Sage Group (SGE) 527.50p +0.76%
Intu Properties (INTU) 341.80p +0.59%
National Grid (NG.) 874.50p +0.57%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 3,271.00p +0.52%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 803.50p +0.50%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 175.30p -1.41%
St James's Place (STJ) 966.50p -1.38%
Kingfisher (KGF) 370.10p -1.17%
Whitbread (WTB) 5,140.00p -0.96%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 2,610.00p -0.91%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,556.00p -0.89%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 3,960.00p -0.85%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 647.50p -0.84%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,450.00p -0.82%
Glencore (GLEN) 171.55p -0.75%

FTSE 250 - Risers
CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,945.00p +4.46%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 220.60p +4.11%
Grainger (GRI) 253.20p +3.35%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 374.00p +3.34%
Card Factory (CARD) 373.20p +2.81%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,103.00p +2.22%
Drax Group (DRX) 317.90p +2.12%
Rank Group (RNK) 252.40p +2.06%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 152.60p +2.01%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 356.00p +1.95%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Clarkson (CKN) 2,512.00p -8.65%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 1,138.00p -5.25%
Lonmin (LMI) 35.96p -4.64%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 103.30p -4.62%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,096.00p -3.09%
Premier Oil (PMO) 105.40p -2.50%
Allied Minds (ALM) 465.10p -2.10%
William Hill (WMH) 372.20p -2.05%
Betfair Group (BET) 2,791.00p -1.83%
Fidessa Group (FDSA) 1,930.00p -1.83%

FTSE TechMARK - Risers
Electronic Data Processing (EDP) 67.50p +3.45%
Triad Group (TRD) 35.50p +2.90%
E2V Technologies (E2V) 238.75p +2.36%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 82.00p +1.23%
NCC Group (NCC) 246.25p +0.92%
Ricardo (RCDO) 930.00p +0.81%
IShares Euro Gov Bond 7-10YR UCITS ETF (IEGM) € 201.55 +0.23%
Dialight (DIA) 552.50p +0.18%

FTSE TechMARK - Fallers
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 7.84p -3.09%
BATM Advanced Communications Ltd. (BVC) 18.50p -1.99%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 912.50p -1.35%
KCOM Group (KCOM) 94.50p -0.79%
Consort Medical (CSRT) 938.00p -0.27%

"Interest rates will need to be increased well before inflation hits our 2 percent target. Waiting too long would risk undermining the recovery, especially if interest rates then need to be increased faster than the gradual path which we expect."

Meanwhile, Greek Energy Minister Panos Skourletis on Monday signalled that the government may call a confidence vote after almost a third of lawmakers from the ruling Syriza party abstained or voted against a new bailout deal.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had to rely on opposition support on Friday to get the bailout agreement through parliament.

"I consider it self-evident after the deep wound in Syriza's parliamentary group for there to be such a move,” Skourletis told Skai television when asked about the possibility of a parliamentary confidence vote.

Skourletis also indicated possible early elections if Tsipras lost a confidence vote.

Company news

Wolseley was a top riser after Citi raised its rating on the plumbing and heating products provider to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’, saying the company was well-position to deliver strong earnings growth over the medium term.

Bovis Homes slumped despite posting a 9% rise in first-half pre-tax profit as it reported a record number of legal completions and said it’s on track to deliver its expected volume of new homes for 2015.

Rightmove figures on Sunday showed UK house prices fell 0.8% month-on-month in August, following a 0.1% increase a month earlier.

Shire was lower on news it is likely to improve its takeover offer for US competitor Baxalta after its first offer was rebuffed, but has put pressure on its rival to make some concessions first. The Dublin-headquartered pharmaceuticals group will have to add around $5 per share to its initial $45.23 all-share offer for Baxalta, sources told various Sunday newspapers.

Inmarsat advanced after confirming that the launch of its third satellite in the Global Express programme, I-5 F3, has been scheduled at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday 28 August.

TUI AG climbed after The Times reported that the travel company is considering spinning off non-mainstream assets.