FTSE 100 movers: Miners slump on China data; Burberry in fashion

London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.4% to 6,161.02 at 1410 GMT, with miners suffering the brunt of the losses following soft Chinese data.

Mining stocks, which are heavily dependent on demand from China, retreated after data showed exports and imports in the world’s second-largest economy fell more than forecast in February.

Exports fell 25.4% from the previous year to $126.1bn, compared with January’s 11.2% contraction. Imports, meanwhile, were down 13.8% to $93.5bn, compared with an 18.8% drop the previous month.

Anglo American, Glencore, Rio Tinto, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton and Fresnillo were all under the cosh.

Payments processor Worldpay, which listed on the London Stock Exchange last year, was under the cosh despite saying it swung to a pre-tax profit of £19.1m in 2015 compared with a £47.1m loss the previous year.

Credit Suisse said the results were solid and in line with consensus expectations but may struggle to match investor expectations going into the numbers.

Luxury clothing retailer Burberry was in fashion following press reports it was seeking help from its financial advisers to defend against a possible takeover bid after it emerged that a mystery investor had built up a 5% stake in the company.

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline was also on the front foot after reporting encouraging data on the effect of its Nucala drug on severe asthma sufferers.

GSK presented results at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) late on Monday that showed patients with severe asthma experienced a "significant improvement" when treated with Nucala, the brand name for a subcutaneous injection of its mepolizumab drug, compared to placebo.

Supermarket retailer Tesco rose as data from Kantar Worldpanel showed sales fell 0.8% in the 12 weeks to 28 February, which was a marked improvement from the 1.6% drop revealed a month earlier.

Risers

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,460.00p 6.49%
Tesco (TSCO) 197.15p 2.79%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 494.85p 2.72%
Pearson (PSON) 884.00p 1.96%
Shire Plc (SHP) 3,823.00p 1.51%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 455.60p 1.17%
Next (NXT) 6,630.00p 1.14%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 938.50p 1.13%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,390.00p 1.09%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,150.00p 1.05%

Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 571.00p -9.09%
Worldpay Group (WI) (WPG) 269.70p -7.61%
Glencore (GLEN) 158.25p -7.32%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,111.50p -5.61%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 564.50p -4.73%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 858.20p -4.41%
Provident Financial (PFG) 3,108.00p -2.81%
Fresnillo (FRES) 927.50p -2.52%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 2,952.00p -2.51%
3i Group (III) 426.90p -2.36%