London midday: Stocks in the red as China data disappoints

by | Oct 18, 2021

London stocks were still in the red by midday on Monday as investors digested disappointing growth figures out of China.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 7,213.82 .

Figures released earlier by the National Bureau of Statistics showed China’s economic growth slowed sharply in the third quarter amid power shortages and supply chain issues.

Growth slowed to 4.9% in the three months to the end of September from 7.9% in the previous quarter, marking the weakest growth in a year. This was below economists’ expectations for a 5.0% increase. Growth also slowed sharply in seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter terms, from 1.2% in the second quarter to 0.2% in the third.

The slowdown came amid a number of headwinds such as the crisis at property developer Evergrande and energy issues that forced factories to reduce output.

Data also showed that industrial production grew by 3.1% in September year-over-year, down from 5.3% in August and marking the slowest growth since March 2020, with manufacturing hit hard by supply chain disruptions and chip shortages.

Retail sales rose 4.4% on the year in September, up from 2.5% in August, while fixed asset investment growth slowed to 7.3% from 8.9%.

IG market analyst Joshua Mahony said: “The release of a whole host of Chinese data highlighted the ongoing pattern evident throughout many of the world’s biggest nations.

“Improved retail sales and unemployment figures highlight a willingness to invest in a bid to capture elevated consumer demand. However, weaker-than-expected GDP, industrial production, and fixed asset investment serve to highlight the ongoing difficulties faced by a Chinese economy that continues to struggle with an energy crisis that has forced the closure of factories.”

In UK equity markets, travel-related shares were under the cosh following gains at the end of last week, with British Airways parent IAG, Wizz Air and easyJet all lower.

UK bus and train operator National Express slumped after saying it had been given until November 16 to make a bid for rival Stagecoach.

On the upside, gambling software group Playtech surged nearly 60% after agreeing to be bought by Australian gaming machine maker Aristocrat Leisure in a £2.1bn deal.

Drinks manufacturer C&C Group fizzed higher after an upgrade to ‘overweight’ at Barclays, while Drax powered ahead after an upgrade to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ at Jefferies.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,213.82 -0.28%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,962.57 -0.09%
techMARK (TASX) 4,545.51 -0.78%

FTSE 100 – Risers

Fresnillo (FRES) 868.40p 2.70%
Evraz (EVR) 630.40p 2.11%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,499.00p 1.90%
Glencore (GLEN) 397.10p 1.68%
BHP Group (BHP) 2,016.50p 1.37%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,347.00p 1.28%
Tesco (TSCO) 270.55p 0.99%
National Grid (NG.) 905.00p 0.87%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 988.20p 0.73%
SSE (SSE) 1,582.00p 0.57%

FTSE 100 – Fallers

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 176.06p -3.75%
Informa (INF) 532.80p -3.02%
Pearson (PSON) 603.00p -2.80%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,656.00p -2.74%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,452.50p -2.52%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,305.00p -1.90%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,837.00p -1.90%
British Land Company (BLND) 494.50p -1.77%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 700.20p -1.60%
Royal Mail (RMG) 415.20p -1.59%

FTSE 250 – Risers

Playtech (PTEC) 674.00p 57.04%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 113.40p 5.59%
888 Holdings (888) 416.80p 4.72%
Darktrace (DARK) 906.00p 3.07%
Man Group (EMG) 232.90p 2.55%
Volution Group (FAN) 507.00p 2.53%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 24.56p 2.33%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 326.80p 2.00%
BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust (BRSC) 2,050.00p 1.99%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 227.50p 1.97%

FTSE 250 – Fallers

National Express Group (NEX) 226.60p -4.06%
easyJet (EZJ) 622.20p -3.42%
FirstGroup (FGP) 89.95p -2.86%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 332.70p -2.58%
Carnival (CCL) 1,569.60p -2.56%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 234.20p -2.17%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 4,557.00p -2.17%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 1,448.00p -2.16%
Greencore Group (CDI) (GNC) 132.30p -2.14%
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 157.50p -2.05%

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