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London open: Stocks fall as OECD warns on global economy
UK stocks declined on Wednesday after Chinese manufacturing failed to impress and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued a warning on the global economy.
The official China manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 50.1 in May, unchanged from the previous month but slightly better than the reading of 50.0 economists were expecting. A reading above 50 signals an expansion in sector activity while a level below that indicates a contraction.
The non-manufacturing PMI fell to 53.1 in May from 53.5 a month earlier.
Separately, Caixin’s China manufacturing PMI dropped to 49.2 in May from 49.4 in April, as expected, marking the 15th consecutive month of contraction. It was the lowest figure since February.
“The manufacturing number for China was awful and the economic picture will become even more ugly if the Chinese Caxin Non-Manufacturing services number (which is due tomorrow) also confirms that the economy is on the verge of a major slowdown,” said ThinkForex analyst Naeem Aslam.
Weighing further on sentiment, Secretary-General of the OECD Angel Gurra said the global economy is struggling due to weak trade and problems in emerging markets.
He told Bloomberg TV that the world economy faces a “rather mediocre, rather dismal outlook”.
The world economy is expected to grow by 3% this year – in line with 2015’s dismal performance, Gurra added.
On home soil, Nationwide data showed UK house price growth stagnated in May. Prices rose 0.2% on the month, in line with April’s increase and worse than forecasts for a 0.3% gain.
Year-on-year house prices increased 4.7% in May, slowing from April’s 4.9% rise and missing estimates for a 4.8% climb.
Still to come, UK net consumer credit and mortgage approvals data at 0930 BST, Markit’s UK manufacturing PMI at 0930 BST, Markit’s US manufacturing PMI at 1445 BST, ISM’s manufacturing index at 1500 BST, US construction spending figures at 1500 BST and the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book at 1900 BST.
Meanwhile, oil prices fell on the prospect of rising production from major Middle East exporters ahead of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting on Thursday.
At 0906 BST Brent crude dropped 0.97% to $49.41 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate dipped 0.94% to $48.64 per barrel.
In company news, shares in Halfords declined as the company revealed full year numbers were largely flat but ahead of market expectations.
Telford Homes edged higher as the residential property developer posted a 28% jump in pre-tax profit for the year to the end of March as revenue surged amid strong demand.
Wolseley plunged as it reported its third quarter results and said recent revenue growth trends “have been weaker and we have continued to manage costs and productivity very carefully” amid a challenging market.
RSA Insurance Group was in the red as it completed the sale of its operations in Mexico to Suramericana SA, the insurance subsidiary of Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana.
Meggitt’s shares climbed as the aerospace engineer said it had completed a private placement of $600m seven and 10 year senior notes with 23 US-based investors.
