London open: FTSE pulls back from all-time high as mining stocks decline

London's FTSE 100 retreated from a fresh record on Monday morning as investors took profits ahead of a busy week for global financial markets, with shares in the mining sector in particular under pressure.

The Footsie was trading 0.24% lower at 7,072.78 early on after settling at a new all-time closing high of 7,089.77 on Friday. The intraday record high of 7,095.36 was also reached on that day.

"The week ahead in the financial markets will certainly be an interesting one, with a plethora of big economic data being released, central bank announcements and corporate earnings season getting into full swing after Alcoa got things underway last week," said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.

UK inflation, US retail sales and a policy meeting at the European Central Bank will likely steal the spotlight over the coming days.

Wednesday's gross domestic product figures from China will also be in focus after figures overnight revealed that Chinese exports dropped at an annual rate of 15% in March, a significant miss on the 10% increase expected by analysts. Exports also sank 12.7%, compared with the estimated 10% decline.

"Disappointing numbers have strengthened the case for further stimulus in the region as exports in particular were notably weak," said analysts at Deutsche Bank. This speculation drove markets higher in Asia on Monday with Hang Seng and Shanghai stocks rising more than 2%.

Broker downgrades hit miners

Mining stocks were among the worst performers early on after Citigroup downgraded its ratings across the sector following revisions to commodity prices forecasts. The bank lowered Rio Tinto, Glencore, BHP Billiton and Lonmin to 'neutral' and cut Vedanta Resources and Anglo American to 'sell'.

Precious metal peers Randgold, Centamin and Fresnillo, however, were bucking the trend as shares edged higher.

BP was also feeling the effects of a broker downgrade, as Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut its recommendation to 'neutral', while Pearson was lowered to 'underperform' by Jefferies.

In contrast, HSBC was boosted after Morgan Stanley lifted its rating on the stock to 'equal weight' following a 17% underperformance against the Stoxx 600 banks index so far this year.

Housing stocks were pulling back after a strong performance the previous session following a number of upgrades by Jefferies. Barratt Developments, Bellway and Persimmon were all trading in the red.

Low cost air carrier EasyJet fell after appointing the finance executive from Halfords to its management board. Andrew Findlay, is to become chief finance officer at EasyJet by the end of October.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,262.36 -0.36%
FTSE 100 7,072.78 -0.24%
FTSE 250 17,848.99 -0.15%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Fresnillo (FRES) 722.00p +2.63%
Aviva (AV.) 565.50p +1.89%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,800.00p +1.18%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 619.00p +1.13%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,924.00p +0.90%
SSE (SSE) 1,573.00p +0.77%
BG Group (BG.) 1,174.50p +0.56%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 438.00p +0.55%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,253.00p +0.40%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,056.00p +0.39%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 542.00p -2.87%
Pearson (PSON) 1,441.00p -2.04%
Tesco (TSCO) 246.45p -1.81%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,885.00p -1.57%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,153.00p -1.45%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,442.50p -1.43%
Sage Group (SGE) 477.30p -1.38%
Shire Plc (SHP) 5,615.00p -1.14%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,737.00p -1.14%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 164.20p -1.14%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 61.00p +3.74%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 172.30p +2.93%
Premier Oil (PMO) 161.40p +1.89%
Aveva Group (AVV) 1,576.00p +1.87%
FirstGroup (FGP) 103.10p +1.78%
Home Retail Group (HOME) 167.90p +1.70%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 161.70p +1.57%
Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,938.00p +1.47%
Hunting (HTG) 564.00p +1.44%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 377.40p +1.40%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Saga (SAGA) 183.80p -2.13%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 507.50p -2.03%
Lonmin (LMI) 127.40p -2.00%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 184.60p -1.76%
Evraz (EVR) 203.70p -1.64%
Genus (GNS) 1,414.00p -1.53%
Indivior (INDV) 208.10p -1.51%
Halfords Group (HFD) 464.10p -1.47%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 216.80p -1.45%
Just Eat (JE.) 433.20p -1.30%