FTSE 100 movers: Miners and housebuilders slump; Vodafone gains
London's FTSE 100 was down 0.6% to 6,994.45 in afternoon trade on Friday, with miners and housebuilders in the red.
Antofagasta was under the cosh amid a more general retreat in the mining sector, after data showed that China's manufacturing sector stalled in November for the first time in two years. The official purchasing managers' index fell to 50 this month, coming in below October's 50.2 and expectations, right at the level that separates contraction from expansion.
Housebuilders were also under pressure, with Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon both weaker as the latest survey from Nationwide revealed an uptick in annual house price growth in November but with prices still fairly subdued and the outlook less than rosy.
House prices were up 0.3% on the month, beating expectations for a 0.1% increase and compared to no growth in September. On the year, house prices were 1.9% higher, up from 1.6% growth the month before and beating expectations for 1.7% growth.
Nationwide's chief economist Robert Gardner said that although the annual rise of 1.9% was up on the previous month, it was still "relatively subdued".
On the upside, Vodafone was the top riser after it announced a "ground-breaking" global collaboration with Sony Pictures, which will see them support millions of young people across 20 countries identify their skills and find digital jobs that match them.
They will use the December's release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse to introduce young people to Vodafone's free Future Jobs Finder, a gamified digital platform to help them understand their skills and future career opportunities.
Shire nudged higher as it said that its injectable treatment for hereditary angioedema has been cleared for launch in Europe, having enjoyed early success in the US.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Vodafone Group (VOD) 170.14p 1.42%
Centrica (CNA) 137.65p 1.10%
BAE Systems (BA.) 494.80p 0.92%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,148.00p 0.85%
Pearson (PSON) 966.80p 0.60%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 328.70p 0.55%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,605.60p 0.50%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,519.50p 0.32%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 628.40p 0.32%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 6,173.00p 0.31%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,138.50p -4.81%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 176.95p -4.04%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 803.00p -3.99%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 134.45p -2.96%
NMC Health (NMC) 3,440.00p -2.88%
Next (NXT) 4,917.00p -2.83%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 294.30p -2.78%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,912.00p -2.72%
ITV (ITV) 146.60p -2.53%
Barclays (BARC) 163.02p -2.52%