London midday: Stocks fall after worse-than-expected UK construction PMI

London stocks were under pressure on Wednesday as a report showed UK construction activity slowed more than expected in April.

The Markit/CIPS UK construction purchasing managers’ index fell to 52.0, down from 54.2 in March and missing expectations for a reading of 54.0.

Although it was still above the 50.0 mark that separates contraction from expansion, it pointed to the slowest expansion of business activity since mid-2013.

David Morrison, senior market strategist at SpreadCo, said: “There will be precious little chance of the Bank of England considering a rate hike this year until there’s a definite improvement in the trend for these numbers."

The report comes a day after the Markit/CIPS PMI on UK manufacturing showed an unexpected contraction in April, falling to 49.2 from 50.7 in March.

In the eurozone, data from the EU statistics agency revealed retail sales fell 0.5% in March compared to a month earlier, worse than the 0.1% decline expected by analysts. On the year sales increased 2.1% but missed forecast for a 2.6% gain.

Still to come, the US ADP private payrolls report will be in focus at 1315 BST ahead of the Labor Department’s non-farm payrolls on Friday. Markit releases US services PMI at 1445 BST which will be followed by figures on US factory orders and US durable goods orders at 1500 BST.

US weekly crude inventories data from the Department of Energy will be also released at 1530 BST.

Oil prices rose at 1153 BST, with Brent crude up 0.28% to $45.11 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate up 0.36% to $43.81 per barrel.

On the company front, Sainsbury’s shares fell after the supermarket reported a 13.8% drop in full year underlying pre-tax profit to £587m as sales declined and the group grappled with the industry price war and ensuring food price deflation.

Next rallied despite warning that sales and profits could be lower than previously forecast due to a potential slowdown in consumer spending. Numis reiterated an ‘add’ rating on the retailer, saying shares were trading at “good value” for investors.

BHP Billiton edged lower on news that federal prosecutors in Brazil have launched a $43bn lawsuit against the company’s part-owned Samarco Mineração mining unit to claim compensation for the dam disaster last November.

International Personal Finance dropped after saying growth in customer number and lending slowed in the first quarter due to an easing in the key market of Mexico.

Glencore was in the red after saying copper, zinc, lead, oil and coal volumes all were cut in the first quarter as part of the commodities giant's plan to draw in its horns during this low point in the cycle.

JD Wetherspoon advanced as it reported a 3.8% rise in like-for-like sales in the third quarter and announced plans to buy back up to £60m of shares.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,113.28 -1.17%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,688.34 -0.25%
techMARK (TASX) 3,045.82 -0.71%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Next (NXT) 5,200.00p 4.46%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,002.00p 1.73%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,920.00p 0.89%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 990.00p 0.76%
Aviva (AV.) 435.20p 0.62%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 370.70p 0.57%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 531.50p 0.57%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,445.00p 0.49%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,985.00p 0.40%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 512.00p 0.39%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

BHP Billiton (BLT) 813.80p -7.03%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,155.00p -6.81%
Glencore (GLEN) 142.75p -4.71%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 273.00p -4.66%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,810.00p -3.93%
Anglo American (AAL) 639.50p -3.82%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 433.90p -3.28%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,037.00p -3.17%
Tesco (TSCO) 164.55p -2.78%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,102.00p -2.44%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Electra Private Equity (ELTA) 3,804.00p 5.67%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 209.00p 4.34%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,641.00p 3.93%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 698.50p 2.80%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,285.00p 2.75%
NCC Group (NCC) 270.90p 2.50%
JRP Group (JRP) 139.60p 2.50%
Cobham (COB) 153.20p 2.13%
Just Eat (JE.) 410.60p 2.11%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 901.50p 1.86%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

International Personal Finance (IPF) 241.60p -7.40%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 367.90p -6.87%
Interserve (IRV) 418.90p -6.10%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 264.80p -4.63%
Polymetal International (POLY) 681.00p -4.49%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 67.75p -4.44%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 325.90p -4.23%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 155.20p -4.20%
Evraz (EVR) 130.40p -3.76%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,112.00p -3.07%