London open: Resource stocks drag FTSE 100 to lowest in over two weeks

The official purchasing managers index (PMI) for China came in below expectations at an eight-month low, adding to concerns about the state of the world's second-largest economy.

The FTSE 100 had dropped 0.94% to 6,659 early on. It has not closed below this mark since 14 November when it settled at 6,654.37.

Government data showed that the China manufacturing PMI fell to 50.3 last month, down from October's reading of 50.8 and under consensus forecast of 50.5.

Meanwhile, the final reading of the unofficial Chinese manufacturing report by HSBC confirmed that the sector stagnated in November, with the PMI falling to the 50-point mark which separates expansion from contraction, a six-month low. This was down from a reading of 50.4 in October.

"Today's PMI readings suggest that the manufacturing sector continues to face headwinds," said analysts at Capital Economics. "And while it is too early to look for the impact of last month's rate cut in today's data, it seems unlikely that it will be enough to prevent a further slide in growth."

A host of manufacturing PMIs were also due out in the UK, Eurozone and US on Monday.

Resource stocks fall, Tullow slumps

A sell-off across the commodities markets dampened stocks in the resource sectors on Monday with oil stocks reeling from the continued plunge in crude prices. West Texas Intermediate dropped below $65 per barrel, its lowest since July 2009, while Brent was trading at $67.82, its lowest since October 2009.

Tullow Oil was leading the decline in the oil sector after a downgrade from JPMorgan Cazenove to 'neutral'. The bank more than halved its target price for the stock from 1,000p to just 495p.

JPMorgan also cut its ratings for FTSE 250 peers Ophir, Enquest and Afren.

Oil and gas firm BG Group slumped after revising the remuneration package for its new chief executive Helge Lund, following intense pressure from shareholders. The company had originally proposed a £25m package for its new boss, but has now decided to give him £10.6m in shares.

Blue-chip miners such as Randgold, BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Glencore were also suffering heavy losses as metal prices weakened.

Annual underlying profits at asset manager Aberdeen inched higher in the year to 30 September despite a "more challenging environment", as the company hiked its dividend by over a tenth. The stock advanced slightly early on.

Balfour Beatty was on the rise after John Laing Infrastructure Fund announced it is planning to make a non-binding proposal to Balfour's board for its public-private partnership portfolio for around £1bn in cash.

Market Movers
techMARK 2,934.70 -0.44%
FTSE 100 6,659.40 -0.94%
FTSE 250 15,729.39 -0.77%

FTSE 100 - Risers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 472.60p +3.30%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,688.00p +2.12%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 5,325.00p +1.33%
BT Group (BT.A) 414.80p +1.12%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 493.60p +1.04%
Whitbread (WTB) 4,633.00p +1.00%
SSE (SSE) 1,656.00p +0.98%
Next (NXT) 6,825.00p +0.74%
Diageo (DGE) 1,995.50p +0.73%
Reed Elsevier (REL) 1,121.00p +0.72%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Tullow Oil (TLW) 389.00p -8.69%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,787.00p -4.74%
BG Group (BG.) 865.80p -3.82%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,114.00p -3.72%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 225.35p -3.68%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,462.50p -3.59%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,109.00p -3.39%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,278.50p -3.25%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,061.00p -3.10%
Fresnillo (FRES) 690.50p -3.02%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 191.50p +4.47%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 303.00p +3.84%
Riverstone Energy Limited (RSE) 909.50p +3.35%
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 200.00p +1.63%
William Hill (WMH) 340.30p +1.58%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,034.00p +1.47%
Croda International (CRDA) 2,478.00p +0.98%
Workspace Group (WKP) 694.50p +0.94%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 619.50p +0.90%
Genesis Emerging Markets Fund Ltd Ptg NPV (GSS) 567.00p +0.89%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
EnQuest (ENQ) 44.58p -10.07%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 132.50p -8.81%
Afren (AFR) 47.25p -8.70%
Soco International (SIA) 264.50p -6.57%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 87.85p -6.34%
Premier Oil (PMO) 177.80p -4.92%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 564.50p -4.56%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 155.80p -4.12%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 43.91p -3.92%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 701.00p -3.91%