London close: Stocks drop as investors dwell on China slowdown

The People’s Bank of China on Wednesday said it would pump 140 billion yuan into the financial system through a short-term liquidity adjustment operation. The SLO loans, introduced in 2003 to reduce fluctuations in liquidity and stabilise interbank funding costs, will come with a 2.3% interest rate.

The move follows the central bank’s decision on Tuesday to cut interest rates for the third time since November. The PBoC lowered its benchmark lending and deposit rates by 0.25 percentage points, adding that the rate cuts will become effective on 26 August and are aimed at reducing corporate borrowing costs.

China's central bank also reduced its reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage points, starting from 6 September.

However, the measures failed to soothe worries about the shrinking economy when sent global stocks tumbling on “Black Monday”.

“The string of events we’ve seen in China and global markets over the past few weeks can best be described as a negative spiral, whereby moves to stimulate the economy are received by markets as a signal of policymakers’ worries about China’s economic health, something that in turn sends the stock market plunging further,” said Cebr senior economist Danae Kyriakopoulou. “This short-term game however distracts attention away from China’s real problems.”

Kyriakopoulou said the root of the problem lies with China’s “incredible levels of debt”, particularly in local governments which stands at about 50% of GDP, according to the latest study by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The volatility caused by China woes prompted Federal Reserve official William Dudley to argue that a September interest rate hike was “less compelling”.

“I really do hope we can raise interest rates this year ... But let’s see how the data unfold before we make statements about when that might occur,” he told a conference.

On a positive note for the US, a report showed durable goods orders rose 2% in July, smashing expectations for a 0.4% decline and following a 4.3% increase in June.

Closer to home, a report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed first-time buyers in London borrowed £2.67bn in the second three months of the year, representing a 12% increase from the previous quarter but a 10% year-on-year fall.

In another sign that the housing market is thriving, BBA revealed mortgage approvals increased significantly in July. Overall mortgage approvals rose 15% year-on-year last month, while house purchases increased 11% from the corresponding period in 2014. Remortgaging applications jumped 29% year-on-year to reach their highest level in four years.

Among corporate stocks, engineer Weir Group rallied on M&A news in the sector, after it emerged that oilfield services group Schlumberger has agreed to buy Cameron International Corp in a deal valued at $14.8bn.

Royal Bank of Scotland was on the front foot after Morgan Stanley lifted the stock to ‘overweight’ from ‘equalweight’ and raised its price target to 400p from 345p.

BHP Billiton was higher after RBC Capital Markets upgraded the stock to ‘sector perform’ from ‘underperform’.

Chip maker ARM Holdings rose after Bernstein upped its stance on the stock to ‘market perform’ from ‘underperform’ with an unchanged target price of 800p, noting that since its last peak at the end of March, the stock has significantly underperformed the wider market.

Range Resources plunged after the oil and gas explorer said the deadline related to its payment to Lind Asset Management had been extended.

WPP dropped despite reporting a 44.5% jump in first half pre-tax profit as revenues grew 6.8%.

Carillion slumped as it revealed flat pre-tax profits for the first half.

Mining stocks declined as gold, silver and copper prices came under pressure.

Market Movers

techMARK 2,978.62 -0.31%

FTSE 100 6,000.88 -1.32%

FTSE 250 16,635.97 -0.51%

FTSE 100 - Risers

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Weir Group (WEIR) 1,357.00p +1.88%

Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 324.90p +1.15%

easyJet (EZJ) 1,685.00p +0.60%

Capita (CPI) 1,213.00p +0.58%

TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,145.00p +0.53%

Tesco (TSCO) 186.85p +0.46%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

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Standard Chartered (STAN) 712.50p -4.36%

Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 3,834.00p -4.17%

WPP (WPP) 1,311.00p -3.74%

Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,583.00p -3.66%

BG Group (BG.) 927.80p -3.41%

Glencore (GLEN) 139.60p -3.26%

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,348.00p -3.16%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 562.00p -3.02%

Centrica (CNA) 237.00p -2.79%

FTSE 250 - Risers

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OneSavings Bank (OSB) 363.00p +14.22%

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Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 350.60p +6.08%

Man Group (EMG) 160.30p +4.91%

Hunting (HTG) 434.20p +4.78%

Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 795.50p +3.72%

Aldermore Group (ALD) 276.40p +3.48%

Enterprise Inns (ETI) 119.90p +3.36%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

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Lonmin (LMI) 34.47p -5.20%

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Just Retirement Group (JRG) 183.70p -3.97%

Evraz (EVR) 75.10p -3.53%

Savills (SVS) 888.50p -3.32%

UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (UDG) 492.40p -3.26%

Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 373.00p -3.12%

Victrex plc (VCT) 1,699.00p -2.97%

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Torotrak (TRK) 6.00p +7.14%

XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,623.00p +3.38%

RM (RM.) 170.00p +1.57%

NCC Group (NCC) 230.50p +1.54%

KCOM Group (KCOM) 90.00p +1.41%

Consort Medical (CSRT) 939.50p +0.91%

E2V Technologies (E2V) 226.50p +0.33%

IShares Euro Gov Bond 7-10YR UCITS ETF (IEGM) € 199.56 +0.21%

FTSE TechMARK - Fallers

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Sarossa (SARS) 1.77p -3.54%

Spirent Communications (SPT) 75.50p -3.21%

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Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 9.00p -1.64%

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Innovation Group (TIG) 34.50p -1.43%

Sepura (SEPU) 161.25p -1.38%

Dialight (DIA) 545.00p -1.27%

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