London midday: Stocks dip after UK construction PMI falls

London stocks fell after data showed UK construction sector growth slowed in October.

The Markit/CIPS construction purchasing managers’ index declined from 59.9 in September to 58.8 last month, in line with analysts’ expectations and comfortably above the 50 threshold that signals expansion.

Housing activity growth eased from September’s 12-month high and the latest rise in civil engineering was the slowest since May, while commercial building work increased at the sharpest pace for eight months.

“This is still a largely robust survey, despite the headline construction activity index edging back in October from a seven-month high in September,” said Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight.

“In fact, the headline activity index was still at a high level in October that is consistent with strong construction expansion.”

The report follows Monday’s impressive UK manufacturing PMI which rose from an upwardly revised 51.8 in September to a 16-month high of 55.5 last month, exceeding analysts’ expectations for a 51.3 reading.

The Bank of England is closely monitoring UK data ahead of Thursday’s policy decision. Analysts expect no change to interest rates or the asset purchase programme amid low inflation and risks stemming from the slowdown in emerging markets.

Meanwhile, data on US factory orders is due at 1500 GMT, with analysts predicting a 0.9% fall in September.

On the company front, Standard Chartered slumped after posting a disappointing third quarter and launching a capital raise to strengthen the balance sheet and support its strategic review.

Housebuilders Barratt Developments, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey declined after Liberum cut its rating on the stocks to ‘sell’ from ‘hold’, saying valuations are “too optimistic to accommodate margin pressure”.

Associated British Foods dipped after the owner of Primark reported a 30% slump in pre-tax profit for the year ended 12 September as the company was hit by lower sugar prices and adverse currency moves.

Royal Dutch Shell climbed as it announced it will accelerate the implementation of measures to deal with a prolonged downturn in oil prices once the acquisition of BG Group is complete. BG also rallied on the news.

Imperial Tobacco increased as it posted a rise in pre-tax profit and underlying tobacco net revenue for the year ended 30 September and said it was well placed to meet expectations for the coming year, despite a drop in overall revenues.

Oil producers Royal Dutch Shell and BP jumped as Brent crude futures rose 1.09% to $49.33 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate increased 1.07% to $46.64 per barrel at 1155 GMT.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,351.66 -0.16%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,167.66 0.00%
techMARK (TASX) 3,082.33 0.06%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Meggitt (MGGT) 365.60p 2.38%
Glencore (GLEN) 118.15p 2.21%
BG Group (BG.) 1,042.50p 1.31%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 985.50p 1.28%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,629.00p 1.24%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 349.40p 1.13%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 395.80p 1.10%
BP (BP.) 392.00p 0.97%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,035.50p 0.93%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,722.50p 0.91%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Standard Chartered (STAN) 648.70p -9.09%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 190.00p -4.14%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 586.50p -3.85%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,920.00p -2.44%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,231.00p -2.24%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,779.00p -2.17%
Hammerson (HMSO) 619.50p -1.82%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 969.00p -1.47%
British Land Company (BLND) 859.50p -1.43%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,171.00p -1.43%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Tullow Oil (TLW) 224.00p 11.83%
Premier Oil (PMO) 76.05p 6.66%
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 372.90p 5.55%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,134.00p 5.49%
Evraz (EVR) 87.80p 4.28%
P2P Global Investments C (P2P2) 985.00p 3.14%
Supergroup (SGP) 1,485.00p 3.13%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 156.10p 3.10%
Ladbrokes (LAD) 107.70p 2.87%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 83.00p 2.60%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 326.00p -7.23%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,671.00p -5.33%
Redrow (RDW) 449.70p -4.56%
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 918.50p -4.42%
Just Eat (JE.) 424.00p -3.83%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 534.50p -3.17%
Regus (RGU) 324.90p -2.64%
Marshalls (MSLH) 339.00p -1.85%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 1,008.00p -1.85%
Unite Group (UTG) 650.00p -1.59%