London close: Miners and banks lead FTSE down amid Monday malaise

The story of the day was Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management's agreed £11bn tie-up, with both companies' shares making handsome gains by the closing bell.

FTSE 100 ended Monday down 0.33% or 24.14 points to 7,350.12, and FTSE 250 was lower 0.01% to 18,881.37. FTSE 350 indices heavily lower included industrial metals and mining, with banks firmly southbound.

Across the Channel, the Euro Stoxx 50, Dax and Cac 40 were all down, while across the Atlantic the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were lower.

"In Europe, the losses were slightly more pronounced, largely thanks to the Deutsche Bank-led decline in the banking sector," commented Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex.

In London, this translated into falls for Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Lloyds, but the fall in industrial metals prices followed a slip in China growth expectations for this year.

Glencore, Anglo American, Antofagasta and Rio Tinto all suffered, with BHP Billiton and gold-sensitive Fresnillo following.

In other blue-chip news, budget-airline easyJet flew higher on improved passenger numbers in February, while BT Group gained on a UEFA Champions League and Europa League football deal, and Informa firmed following pleasing full-year results.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, summed up the Monday malaise as understandable given the excitement of last week.

"A lack of news today is coupled with the knowledge that markets are likely to become much more volatile," he said.

Traders are already looking ahead to the UK's annual budget release early on Wednesday, and a log-jam of other news -- both data and central bank -- due out.

"The main theme in London is not hard to find -- US dollar resilience, engendered by (Fed chair Janet) Yellen’s nod and a wink on a March rate rise, has hit commodity prices hard," said Beauchamp.

"As a result the mining sector is knocking a healthy slice off the FTSE 100 as a result."

Campbell agreed: "The fact that the back end of the week is so cluttered helps explain, alongside today's general lack of macro news, helps explain why the week has gotten off to such a dreary start."

Geopolitical worries following North Korea's test firing of missiles at the weekend and ahead of next week's Dutch elections were also cited by traders as reasons for Monday's dour sentiment.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,350.12 -0.33%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,881.37 -0.01%
techMARK (TASX) 3,446.71 0.02%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Standard Life (SL.) 400.80p 5.89%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 303.60p 1.95%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 186.10p 1.69%
Schroders (SDR) 3,119.00p 1.56%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 255.00p 1.55%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,112.00p 1.54%
ITV (ITV) 206.20p 1.53%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,744.00p 1.34%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 246.70p 1.27%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 335.20p 1.27%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Glencore (GLEN) 326.50p -3.47%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,238.00p -2.71%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 240.80p -2.51%
WPP (WPP) 1,720.00p -2.22%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 802.00p -2.20%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,270.50p -2.08%
Barclays (BARC) 226.95p -1.92%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,337.00p -1.87%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,389.00p -1.70%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 734.50p -1.54%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 2,087.00p 5.30%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 298.30p 4.16%
Just Eat (JE.) 518.00p 4.12%
IP Group (IPO) 155.00p 2.24%
Man Group (EMG) 144.60p 2.19%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 431.80p 2.08%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 702.50p 1.96%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 365.90p 1.67%
Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,583.00p 1.65%
Savills (SVS) 881.00p 1.61%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Acacia Mining (ACA) 414.90p -10.00%
Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,842.00p -5.10%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 850.00p -4.66%
Evraz (EVR) 220.80p -4.25%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 498.60p -4.02%
BGEO Group (BGEO) 2,838.00p -3.14%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 962.00p -2.78%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 263.30p -2.73%
Aldermore Group (ALD) 233.50p -2.30%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 530.00p -2.03%