FTSE 100 down on weak Chinese data
The FTSE 100 fell in early trading this morning, as the miners that rose on the blue chip index yesterday fell on weak manufacturing data from China, which spurred concerns about demand for the oil and metals market.
Miner Ferrexpo, steelmaker Evraz and Aquarius Platinum led the fallers, down 5.5, 5.37 and 4.92 per cent respectively. The latter, which has been battling a strike at its Kroondal mine in South Africa, reopened the mine earlier this week after suspending operations over the weekend.
Fellow platinum miner Lonmin fell 4.6 per cent following a share price spike yesterday, as it announced it had reached an agreement with the miners to return to work today.
FTSE 100 miners Vedanta and Anglo American dropped 3.7 and 3.64 per cent respectively.
Identity theft protection group CPP led the risers, up 4.26 per cent.
Sports media group Perform rose 2.5 per cent, while Workspace Group, which provides commercial property in cities, added 1.59 per cent. Yesterday it announced it was to tap retail investors for funding, offering a seven-year corporate bond.
Elesewhere, Sportingbet was on the leaderboard, rising 1.47 per cent as investors reacted positively to news of a possible takeover bid from William Hill.
The majority of UK banks had a tough morning. HSBC fell 0.22 per cent, RBS fell 0.89 per cent and Barclays lost 1.15 per cent. Only Lloyds Banking Group was in positive territory, adding 1.61 per cent.
In Asia, the Nikkei closed down 1.57 per cent, as investors were cautious over weak Chinese data. In the US, the Dow Jones closed up 0.1 per cent.