London midday: Stocks pare gains as pound slips below $1.30 after manufacturing data
Stocks in London were up but off earlier highs by midday as the pound slipped back below $1.30 after the latest UK manufacturing data fell short of expectations.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.3% to 7,337.69, while the pound was down 0.5% against the dollar at 1.2957 and flat versus the euro at 1.1393 as the Markit/CIPS manufacturing purchasing managers' index for June came in at a three-month low of 54.3, below the consensus estimate of 56.3 and down from May's revised reading of 56.3.
The main factor driving the slowdown was a steep easing in the rate of increase in new orders, with the consumer, intermediate and investment goods industries all affected. The new orders index tumbled to 54.9, its lowest level since July 2016, from 59.0 in May.
Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital, said: "This is only the manufacturing PMI - the services sector report on Wednesday is going to be a much bigger deal. The market is also likely to be particularly sensitive to remarks from BoE chief economist Andy Haldane tonight and governor Mark Carney on Friday. Will either seek to distance themselves from remarks that have been taken as hawkish or will they double down? GBPUSD will also be sensitive to dollar movements with minutes from the last FOMC meeting and the monthly non-farm payrolls report in view this week.”
Heavily-weighted mining stocks got a boost as China's Caixin manufacturing PMI for June came in at 50.4 from 49.6 in May, beating expectations for a drop to 49.8 and marking a three-month high. Glencore, Antofagasta, Anglo American and Rio Tinto all racked up healthy gains.
SuperGroup, which was forced to publish highlights of its full-year results early on Friday after a preliminary draft of the numbers was stolen from an employee, was trading higher after reporting an 18.4% jump in pre-tax profit.
Electrocomponents rallied as it reported a 13% jump in first-quarter revenue.
Going the other way, FTSE 250 digital automotive marketplace Auto Trader skidded lower after announcing that chief financial officer Sean Glithero is planning to step down and take a new role at Funding Circle.
Severn Trent retreated after selling its North American business for $62m as it looks to focus on its core UK activities.
Energy companies Centrica and SSE were higher despite Ofgem proposing a price cap on energy bills to protect vulnerable consumers.
AstraZeneca nudged lower after confirming the completion of two major transactions, bringing in almost half a billion dollars for the drugmaker in the current financial year.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,337.69 0.34%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,289.27 -0.26%
techMARK (TASX) 3,497.42 -0.29%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Glencore (GLEN) 295.65p 2.94%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 818.00p 2.31%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,046.00p 2.15%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 339.50p 1.86%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 251.50p 1.74%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,297.50p 1.71%
Centrica (CNA) 203.20p 1.50%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 722.10p 1.46%
Worldpay Group (WPG) 319.10p 1.37%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,192.00p 1.36%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Provident Financial (PFG) 2,369.00p -2.63%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 238.20p -1.24%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,107.00p -1.07%
Royal Mail (RMG) 417.00p -1.00%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 2,249.00p -0.97%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,605.00p -0.93%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,163.00p -0.87%
DCC (DCC) 6,930.00p -0.86%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 860.50p -0.81%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 249.70p -0.79%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Supergroup (SGP) 1,548.00p 3.55%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 664.00p 3.43%
BGEO Group (BGEO) 3,611.00p 3.35%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 452.60p 2.40%
Evraz (EVR) 211.70p 2.32%
Ascential (ASCL) 330.90p 2.26%
Electrocomponents (ECM) 590.00p 2.25%
Berendsen (BRSN) 1,256.00p 2.11%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 541.00p 1.98%
Aveva Group (AVV) 1,977.00p 1.91%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
NMC Health (NMC) 2,080.00p -4.85%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 283.80p -4.73%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 737.50p -4.16%
Sirius Minerals (SXX) 29.34p -3.30%
Rank Group (RNK) 229.80p -3.12%
Aldermore Group (ALD) 211.50p -2.67%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 286.50p -2.52%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 366.50p -2.27%
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 432.40p -2.26%
Halma (HLMA) 1,077.00p -2.09%