London open: Stocks fall as China data disappoints

London stocks fell in early trade on Wednesday after the release of disappointing Chinese data, and as investors eyed the latest minutes from the Federal Reserve and a reading on the UK services sector.

At 0900 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 7,490.68.

Data out earlier showed that activity in China’s services sector expanded at its slowest pace in five months in June.

The Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers' index fell to 53.9 from 57.1 in May - the lowest reading since January. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below signals contraction.

The composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and services activity, fell to 52.5 from 55.6 in May.

"Employment contracted, deflationary pressure mounted, and optimism waned in the manufacturing sector," said Caixin senior economist Wang Zhe. "Meanwhile, the services sector continued a post-Covid rebound, but the recovery was losing steam."

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "There are fresh concerns about the global economy powering down as data from China’s service sector underlines how tepid the post-pandemic recovery has become, just as trade tensions between Beijing and Washington ramp up.

"This has put indices in Europe on the back foot, following falls in Asia, with Japan’s Nikkei falling 0.49% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 1.38%."

On home shores, the S&P Global CIPS services PMI for June is due at 0930 BST. Investors were also eyeing the release of FOMC minutes this evening.

In equity markets, vehicle hire company Redde Northgate slumped despite posting a strong rise in annual profit, driven by higher demand.

The company reported a 34.7% rise in pre-tax profit to £178.7m. Revenue grew by a fifth to £1.49bn and the full-year dividend was lifted by 3p a share to 24p.

Outside the FTSE 350, SIG tanked after it said full-year operating profit was set to be towards the lower end of market expectations.

On the upside, Keller Group surged as it lifted its full-year earnings outlook on the back of strong first-half trading and a "robust" order book.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,490.68 -0.39%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,462.58 -0.38%
techMARK (TASX) 4,405.44 -0.20%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Pearson (PSON) 839.80p 2.74%
Next (NXT) 7,008.00p 0.49%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,102.50p 0.47%
Haleon (HLN) 322.15p 0.36%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 608.40p 0.26%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,787.50p 0.25%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 544.00p 0.18%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 43.94p 0.14%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,089.00p 0.09%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,277.00p 0.07%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 598.40p -2.73%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,293.50p -1.65%
Prudential (PRU) 1,088.00p -1.63%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 149.80p -1.61%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,286.00p -1.45%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 225.10p -1.44%
Abrdn (ABDN) 220.70p -1.39%
RS Group (RS1) 750.80p -1.37%
Kingfisher (KGF) 229.20p -1.25%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,743.50p -1.19%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Keller Group (KLR) 782.00p 11.08%
BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 371.00p 1.64%
NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited Red (NESF) 96.20p 1.58%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 150.00p 1.21%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 356.00p 1.14%
Ruffer Investment Company Ltd Red PTG Pref Shares (RICA) 269.00p 1.13%
International Public Partnerships Ltd. (INPP) 129.40p 1.09%
SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 75.30p 0.94%
VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 436.00p 0.93%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 578.00p 0.87%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Helios Towers (HTWS) 87.40p -3.10%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 630.00p -2.33%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 150.80p -2.20%
Redde Northgate (REDD) 370.00p -2.12%
Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) 675.50p -1.82%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,811.00p -1.71%
Currys (CURY) 52.85p -1.67%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 106.60p -1.66%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 193.00p -1.63%
IP Group (IPO) 54.60p -1.62%