London midday: Stocks near unchanged after China data

Markets were holding near the unchanged mark come midday as investors digested a mixed bag of data out of China.

As of 12:11 the Footsie was down by 10.98 points to 6,367.06.

Figures from China's statistics office revealed the country's gross domestic product expanded at 6.9% year-on-year over the three months ending in September, down a touch from the 7% pace seen in the first two quarters of 2015.

Economists had pencilled in growth of 6.8%.

The breakdown of the data suggested that stronger growth on the services side of the economy mostly offset weaker factory output, analysts at Capital Economics said in a research note sent to clients.

Data on industrial production and retail sales for September, also published on Monday, seemed to validate that assessment.

"With stronger fiscal spending in the pipeline and credit growth accelerating, we continue to see some potential upside to growth over the coming quarters," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, chief China economist at the think-tank.

"The Chinese data should really be seen as win win from an investor standpoint. The GDP reading was better than the market was expecting which ensures that the 2015 7% target is still achievable, while industrial production and fixed asset investment figures were so weak that further monetary and fiscal stimulus this year looks increasingly likely," said Craig Erlam, Senior Market Analyst at Oanda.

Nevertheless, other economists highlighted the fact that the country's growth continued to be too credit-intensive.

Investors were now expected to turn their attention towards speeches later in the day from two Fed speakers, Governor
Lael Brainard, and the president of the Federal Reserve bank of Richmond, Jeffrey Lacker.

ITV purchases UTV assets

ITV will purchase UTV Media’s television assets for £100m.The FTSE 100 listed broadcaster announced the deal on Monday, which is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. It said once the deal is approved, ITV will hold 13 of the 15 regional licences for the Channel 3 network.

Ahead of third-quarter results due on Friday, Shire attempted to reassure the market that its lifitegrast dry-eye treatment remains on track for planned launch next year. After US regulators on Friday said they did not have enough data to grant the drug prescription status yet, chief executive Flemming Ornskov, said a major study has now been completed and top-line data are expected before the end of the year. "If the study is positive, we plan to refile our liftegrast submission in the first quarter of 2016".

Carillion signed a contract with the Homes and Communities Agency to regenerate Tower Works in Holbeck Urban Village on Leeds’ South Bank. The construction and support services company said the contract adds to the £1.7bn of new business it has won since the half year, as announced on 12 October. The combined value of the proposed development is around £80m and a site-wide masterplan will be submitted for planning approval shortly subject to which construction work is expected to begin in Spring next year.

Inland Homes delayed the release of its financial results of the year to 30 June 2015. The AIM listed company said on Monday the delays stem from the consolidation of the results and financial position of Drayton Garden Village.

Broker Investec has initiated coverage on Poundland with a 'hold' recommendation and a 300p price target, saying it sees "better opportunities elsewhere with less risk". The integration of the 99p Stores acquisition is expected to add 69% to full year pre-tax profit over the next three years and return Poundland to around 20% growth in the 2017 and 2018 financial years, but Investec had concerns about the quality of the sites, estimating "at least a third were bought from administration".

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,366.36 -0.18%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,888.03 -0.03%
techMARK (TASX) 3,022.92 -0.26%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Experian (EXPN) 1,096.00p 0.92%
Barclays (BARC) 253.10p 0.92%
Old Mutual (OML) 211.20p 0.86%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,062.00p 0.76%
Diageo (DGE) 1,848.50p 0.65%
Hammerson (HMSO) 618.50p 0.65%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,521.00p 0.53%
Bunzl (BNZL) 1,836.00p 0.49%
St James's Place (STJ) 882.00p 0.46%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 249.70p 0.40%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 641.50p -5.01%
Glencore (GLEN) 112.75p -2.80%
Fresnillo (FRES) 741.50p -2.37%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,482.00p -1.97%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 934.00p -1.63%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,448.00p -1.57%
Tesco (TSCO) 194.05p -1.47%
CRH (CRH) 1,729.00p -1.43%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,454.00p -1.26%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,116.00p -1.20%

FTSE 250 - Risers

NMC Health (NMC) 770.00p 5.34%
Ted Baker (TED) 2,865.00p 3.06%
esure Group (ESUR) 249.00p 2.89%
Booker Group (BOK) 182.00p 2.48%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,126.00p 2.36%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 755.50p 2.03%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 363.10p 1.99%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 700.00p 1.97%
Pace (PIC) 376.00p 1.81%
Drax Group (DRX) 285.00p 1.68%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Evraz (EVR) 87.85p -5.54%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 494.10p -5.34%
Allied Minds (ALM) 424.30p -4.33%
Hunting (HTG) 414.50p -3.63%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 94.45p -3.62%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 556.00p -3.56%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 236.80p -2.75%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 133.00p -2.71%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 66.70p -2.63%
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 481.30p -2.57%