London’s FTSE 100 was 1.5% lower in afternoon trade on Monday at 7,274.58.
Miners were under the cosh as metals prices fell after the release of disappointing Chinese trade data. Antofagasta, Anglo, Glencore and Rio Tinto all lost ground.
Figures out earlier showed that China’s trade balance rose to $51.1bn in April from $47.4bn in March, coming in below expectations of $53.5bn. Export growth slowed to 3.9% year-on-year from 14.7% in March.
Rightmove was also in the red after it announced that chief executive Peter Brooks-Johnson will step down from the board and leave the company in the coming year.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “He has been with the company since 2006, took charge in May 2017 and has led the company successfully through the disruption caused by the pandemic and the competitive threat posed by challengers like OnTheMarket and Zoopla.
“There may be some disappointment that there isn’t a ready-made replacement on hand, in the same way there was when Brooks-Johnson replaced Nick McKittrick five years ago.
“Whoever comes in next could face a tricky backdrop, with the property market looking increasingly challenged. Rightmove’s leading position should help and arguably its services might be even more crucial if estate agents have to work harder to generates sales.”
Going the other way, retailers were on the rise, with B&Q owner Kingfisher, supermarket chains Sainsbury’s and Tesco and clothing and homeware retailer Next all up.
FTSE 100 – Risers
Kingfisher (KGF) 243.30p 2.66%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 231.80p 1.71%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 857.60p 1.47%
Tesco (TSCO) 272.10p 0.26%
Next (NXT) 5,960.00p 0.20%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,602.00p 0.14%
Meggitt (MGGT) 778.60p 0.08%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,300.50p 0.02%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,653.50p -0.24%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,032.00p -0.34%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Entain (ENT) 1,278.00p -6.78%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,391.50p -4.50%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 795.00p -4.49%
Rightmove (RMV) 533.80p -4.47%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 8,126.00p -4.40%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,832.00p -4.37%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,338.00p -4.31%
Glencore (GLEN) 466.60p -4.31%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,230.00p -3.86%
Croda International (CRDA) 6,768.00p -3.84%
