London open: UK stocks at three-week low as investors await data

It was a weak start on the Footsie on Tuesday, with stocks at their lowest in three weeks ahead of a barrage of economic data.

The FTSE 100 was trading down 0.7% at 6,371 early on.

The index suffered a 2% sell-off on Monday, finishing at its lowest level since 17 December when it settled at 6,336.48, as concerns about a Greek exit from the Eurozone and another plunge in oil prices weighed on sentiment.

“With a slew of economic figures due this week traders will be cautious,” said trader Rocky Muddar from TradeNext.

Oil was experiencing yet more selling pressure on Tuesday morning, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures falling further below the $50-a-barrel (bbl) mark, a level not seen since April 2009.

WTI was down 1.1% at $49.47/bbl early on ahead of data from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday, which is expected to show that US crude stockpiles increased last week, exacerbating a global supply glut which has hammered prices over the last few months.

After a relatively quiet start to the week in terms of data, the calendar looks pretty full for Tuesday’s session, with service-sector data out in China, Japan, Europe, the UK and US. Factory orders in the States will also be closely watched.

Later in the week, investors will be looking out for Eurozone inflation data, a Bank of England rate decision and the US non-farm payrolls report.

Ashtead drops on United Rentals readacross

Equipment rental firm Ashtead dropped sharply early on, tracking declines seen in the share price of US peer United Rentals which was hit with a broker downgrade on Monday night. Evercore lowered its rating for United Rentals from ‘buy’ to ‘sell’, saying that the recent collapse in oil will affect energy investments and the construction market.

Oil and gas stocks were under pressure again as oil prices dropped, with Nostrum Oil & Gas, Tullow Oil and Ophir Energy falling sharply.

Mining stocks were edging higher, including Anglo American, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto and Randgold, after service-sector figures from China improved slightly. HSBC’s China services purchasing managers’ index for December rose from 53 to 53.4.

Defence, aerospace and energy manufacturing firm Senior rose after hiring Cobham’s chief operating officer David Squires as its new chief executive officer, replacing Mark Rollins who is due to step down after 17 years with the group.

Market Movers
techMARK 2,930.97 -0.37%
FTSE 100 6,371.33 -0.71%
FTSE 250 15,870.64 -0.32%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Fresnillo (FRES) 778.00p +1.24%
SSE (SSE) 1,603.00p +1.20%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,590.00p +1.19%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,534.00p +1.05%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,136.50p +0.89%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,899.50p +0.55%
Old Mutual (OML) 184.70p +0.43%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 950.10p +0.31%
Severn Trent (SVT) 1,993.00p +0.25%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 723.50p +0.21%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,092.00p -7.61%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 414.20p -2.52%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 386.50p -2.50%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 699.50p -1.96%
Diageo (DGE) 1,788.00p -1.81%
Schroders (SDR) 2,587.00p -1.78%
Kingfisher (KGF) 322.40p -1.74%
Barclays (BARC) 230.80p -1.66%
CRH (CRH) 1,479.00p -1.60%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 968.50p -1.58%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 617.50p +3.35%
Saga (SAGA) 151.90p +2.84%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 386.90p +2.27%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 61.85p +1.98%
Drax Group (DRX) 429.20p +1.83%
Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 2,198.00p +1.67%
Polymetal International (POLY) 569.50p +1.52%
Lonmin (LMI) 168.90p +1.38%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,158.00p +1.31%
Betfair Group (BET) 1,579.00p +1.02%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 133.50p -4.37%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 407.80p -2.90%
SSP Group (SSPG) 281.70p -2.83%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 439.90p -2.68%
Premier Oil (PMO) 149.10p -2.61%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 494.10p -2.54%
Computacenter (CCC) 595.00p -2.38%
Hays (HAS) 144.10p -2.24%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 796.50p -1.97%
Afren (AFR) 41.70p -1.93%