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London open: Stocks fall as China data sparks concerns
London stocks edged lower in early trade on Monday as disappointing Chinese data added to concerns about a global slowdown.
At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 7,390.31.
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: “China’s economic data pointed to a notable slowdown in April. Retail sales fell by 11% year-on-year, missing analysts’ estimates and marking the biggest drop since March 2020. Industrial production also disappointed, falling for the first time in over two years, slumping by 2.9% versus expectations for 0.4% growth and down from a 5% gain in March.
“The urban unemployment rate worsened to 6.1% in April from 5.8% in March, marking the highest reading since February 2020 at the height of the pandemic. China’s National Bureau of Statistics blamed the ‘increasingly grim and complex international environment and greater shock of the pandemic at home’.
“China’s draconian approach to its latest covid outbreak has really started to weigh heavily on its economy, a critical engine of growth around the world as seen by today’s figures. It is raising concerns that the world’s largest economy could shrink in the second quarter, potentially paving the way for a recession by the end of Q3 which would have a notable impact on the outlook for global growth.”
In equity markets, Aviva slumped due to a share consolidation and after a downgrade to ‘neutral’ by Goldman Sachs.
Rolls-Royce was also trading down after JPMorgan reiterated its ‘underweight’ rating on the shares.
Credit-checking firm Experian was weaker after it agreed to buy a 51% stake in Brazilian fintech group MOVA as part of a BRL 40.0m (£6.45m) cash deal.
High Street baker Greggs was on the back foot as it posted a 15.8% rise in like-for-like sales in the 10 weeks to May 14 at its company-managed stores, but said it expected figures to normalise against comparisons with more “robust” trading periods last year.
Specialist technical products maker Diploma was in the red as it said it expected annual operating margins to be at the top end of guidance after posting a rise in interim profits, but as revenues fell short of expectations.
On the upside, Vodafone rallied after Emirates Telecommunications Group took a 9.9% stake in the company for around $4.4bn.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Centrica Plc | +3.32% | +2.56 | 79.60 |
| 2 |  |
Fresnillo Plc | +2.82% | +20.40 | 743.80 |
| 3 |  |
Glencore Plc | +2.75% | +12.70 | 474.05 |
| 4 |  |
Phoenix Group Holdings Plc | +2.53% | +15.60 | 632.40 |
| 5 |  |
Informa Plc | +1.96% | +10.60 | 551.60 |
| 6 |  |
Antofagasta Plc | +1.93% | +26.00 | 1,374.50 |
| 7 |  |
Prudential Plc | +1.90% | +18.20 | 978.20 |
| 8 |  |
Bae Systems Plc | +1.70% | +12.60 | 753.80 |
| 9 |  |
Anglo American Plc | +1.65% | +54.50 | 3,359.00 |
| 10 |  |
Vodafone Group Plc | +1.65% | +1.94 | 119.76 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Aviva Plc | -3.42% | -13.95 | 394.25 |
| 2 |  |
Rolls-royce Holdings Plc | -3.10% | -2.60 | 81.25 |
| 3 |  |
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Plc | -2.66% | -21.40 | 784.40 |
| 4 |  |
Easyjet Plc | -2.37% | -11.80 | 486.90 |
| 5 |  |
Smith (ds) Plc | -2.35% | -7.40 | 307.20 |
| 6 |  |
Kingfisher Plc | -2.15% | -5.50 | 249.80 |
| 7 |  |
Smurfit Kappa Group Plc | -2.09% | -67.00 | 3,137.00 |
| 8 |  |
Ashtead Group Plc | -2.07% | -82.00 | 3,887.00 |
| 9 |  |
Flutter Entertainment Plc | -1.95% | -174.00 | 8,770.00 |
| 10 |  |
Unilever Plc | -1.73% | -65.00 | 3,682.00 |
US close: Dow Jones snaps six-day losing streak
Wall Street stocks closed higher on Friday, snapping a six-day losing streak for the blue-chip Dow Jones.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.47% at 32,196.66, while the S&P 500 was 2.39% firmer at 4,023.89 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 3.82% stronger at 11,805.00.
The Dow closed 466.36 points higher on Friday, reversing losses recorded in the previous session.
While stocks closed firmly in the green, major indices still registered a loss for the week as a whole.
In the corporate space, Twitter shares tumbled in early trading after Elon Musk said his takeover of the social media company was on hold until he gets more information on fake accounts.
The Tesla owner tweeted: “Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users.” If Musk pulls out of the deal, he will have to fork out a $1.0bn termination fee.
On the macro front, the University of Michigan‘s consumer sentiment index fell to 59.1 in May, according to a preliminary reading, down from 65.2 in April and below market forecasts of 63.7 for the lowest reading since May 1980.
Elsewhere, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said US import prices were flat month-on-month in April, following an upwardly revised 2.9% increase in March, missing market forecasts for a 0.6% uptick and marking the first time that import prices failed to rise year-to-date. On the other hand, export prices rose 0.6% month-on-month in April, cooling off from March’s downwardly revised 4.1% increase to narrowly miss expectations for a 0.7% jump.
