London close: Stocks finish flat on global economic data comes in mixed

Mining shares were lifted by stimulus speculation in China while the energy sector was bolstered by a falling dollar, however a handful of ex-dividend stocks and weakness in the airline sectors limited upside.

The FTSE 100 settled just 6.21 points higher (+0.09%) at 7,013.47 by the close, after having traded within a narrow range.

"Much-stronger-than-expected retail sales in the UK for April sent the pound roaring higher but didn’t do much to bolster a lacklustre FTSE 100 that has been languishing around the 7,000 mark all week," said CMC Markets analyst Jasper Lawler.

Meanwhile, concerns about Greece continued to rumble on in the background following comments from the German finance minister that he could not rule out a Greek default. According to reports, Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras is expected to present a debt-restructuring proposal at a two-day summit of EU leaders which starts on Thursday in Riga.

Economic data comes in mixed

UK retail sales jumped 1.2% in April, according to the Office for National Statistics, more than making up for the 0.7% decline in March and smashing the consensus forecast of +0.4%.

The 'beat' lifted expectations that national economic growth will regain momentum after a slowdown in the first quarter. "April’s strong retail sales figures offer another reason to think that the economic recovery is not about to fizzle out," said Paul Hollingsworth at Capital Economics.

Elsewhere, the 'flash' Markit Eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) jumped to a 13-month high, the HSBC China manufacturing PMI remained in negative territory, while the Markit US manufacturing PMI dropped to a 16-month low.

Miners and energy stocks rise

Mining stocks such as BHP Billiton, Glencore and Rio Tinto were on the rise after the HSBC China manufacturing PMI came in shy of forecasts, raising speculation about further stimulus from Beijing. The PMI rose from 48.9 to 49.1 this month, missing the consensus forecast of 49.3.

Oil majors BP and Shell finished higher as Brent crude gained 2.3% to $66.52 a barrel on a weaker dollar. However, rising oil prices had the opposite effect on airlines Easyjet and IAG.

Bunzl, Carnival, HSBC, Intertek and Taylor Wimpey all went ex-dividend on Thursday, collectively taking 6.41 points off the FTSE 100.

Royal Mail was flat after meeting forecasts with its annual profits but giving a somewhat cautious statement on the highly competitive market. Full-year revenues were just about flat at £9.3bn, with pre-tax profit slumping by more than two thirds, as expected, to £400m.

Technology outfit Smiths Group edged higher after reiterating guidance for full-year growth in spite of a weakening of underlying results over the first three quarters.

Electricity and gas utility group National Grid hailed "another successful year" as it beat forecasts with an 11% increase in adjusted annual profits, though investors were left underwhelmed with smaller-than-expected increase in the dividend.

Food wholesaler Booker jumped after beating full-year earnings forecasts and proposing a deal to buy Musgrave Retail Partner, which comprises the Londis and Budgens businesses, for £40m.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,286.37 +0.43%
FTSE 100 7,013.47 +0.09%
FTSE 250 18,154.55 +0.10%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 448.50p +2.19%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 593.50p +1.71%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,277.00p +1.67%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,190.00p +1.54%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 242.50p +1.53%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,916.00p +1.48%
Kingfisher (KGF) 366.50p +1.41%
BP (BP.) 458.00p +1.30%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,149.00p +1.08%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,021.00p +0.92%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 184.00p -4.07%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,610.00p -2.37%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 554.00p -2.29%
Carnival (CCL) 3,141.00p -1.87%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,713.00p -1.79%
Hammerson (HMSO) 678.50p -1.67%
SSE (SSE) 1,656.00p -1.49%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 2,435.00p -1.38%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 614.50p -1.35%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,204.00p -1.31%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Booker Group (BOK) 170.00p +11.84%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 239.20p +11.15%
Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 213.40p +5.17%
Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,901.00p +5.14%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 425.30p +5.01%
Soco International (SIA) 193.70p +4.76%
Electra Private Equity (ELTA) 3,252.00p +4.50%
DCC (DCC) 5,125.00p +4.17%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 581.50p +3.84%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 901.50p +3.50%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Electrocomponents (ECM) 234.30p -6.05%
Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 487.10p -5.97%
Inchcape (INCH) 853.50p -4.53%
SSP Group (SSPG) 302.00p -3.27%
Redefine International (RDI) 56.10p -3.03%
Just Eat (JE.) 435.20p -2.64%
Keller Group (KLR) 978.50p -2.54%
Computacenter (CCC) 729.00p -2.54%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 148.40p -2.43%
Northgate (NTG) 630.00p -2.33%