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London open: Stocks little changed after China data
London stocks were little changed in early trade on Monday as investors mulled disappointing data out of China.
At 0900 BST, the FTSE 100 was up just 0.1% at 7,261.21.
Figures released earlier by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that producer prices in China slumped again in June.
Producer price inflation fell 5.4% year-on-year in June, from 4.6% a month earlier and versus expectations of a 5% drop. This marked the worse decline since December 2015.
Meanwhile, the consumer price index slowed to 0% in June year-on-year from 0.2% in May, coming in below consensus expectations for it to be unchanged. This marked the lowest reading since February 2021.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The continued loss of power in the Chinese economy is concerning investors, with consumer prices flatlining. The downbeat data comes ahead of the key inflation snapshot in the United States on Wednesday, which could determine how long the monetary squeeze will continue.
“While inflation shows signs of stubbornness in other economies, disinflationary forces are at work in China, which risk tipping the world’s second largest economy into a deflation scenario. There will be some hope that lower Chinese prices will boost exports, but this has not been evident.”
In equity markets, heavily-weighted miners were in the red, with Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Antofagasta all lower.
BT Group nudged lower as it announced that chief executive Philip Jansen had decided to step down from his position in the next 12 months, after spending four-and-a-half years in the role.
It said that in light of Jansen’s forthcoming departure, its nominations committee had initiated a formal succession process to identify a suitable candidate for the role of chief executive.
The news came amid reports the FTSE 100 telecoms company was in the sights of its major shareholder Deutsche Telekom for a possible takeover.
Online supermarket Ocado fell after Barclays cut its price target on the shares to 640p from 740p.
On the upside, media group Future rallied after it announced a proposed share buyback of up to £45m.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Flutter Entertainment Plc | +1.63% | +240.00 | 14,925.00 |
| 2 |  |
Shell Plc | +1.38% | +31.50 | 2,314.00 |
| 3 |  |
Hiscox Ltd | +1.24% | +13.00 | 1,062.00 |
| 4 |  |
Tui Ag | +1.23% | +7.00 | 575.50 |
| 5 |  |
Severn Trent Plc | +1.21% | +29.00 | 2,423.00 |
| 6 |  |
United Utilities Group Plc | +1.05% | +9.80 | 941.40 |
| 7 |  |
Ashtead Group Plc | +0.98% | +50.00 | 5,144.00 |
| 8 |  |
Dcc Plc | +0.88% | +37.00 | 4,240.00 |
| 9 |  |
Crh Plc | +0.86% | +36.00 | 4,213.00 |
| 10 |  |
Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc | +0.81% | +15.00 | 1,862.00 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Ocado Group Plc | -1.89% | -11.20 | 580.80 |
| 2 |  |
Fresnillo Plc | -1.62% | -9.80 | 596.20 |
| 3 |  |
Antofagasta Plc | -1.59% | -22.50 | 1,393.00 |
| 4 |  |
Rio Tinto Plc | -1.51% | -74.00 | 4,841.00 |
| 5 |  |
Bhp Group Limited | -1.46% | -33.00 | 2,224.50 |
| 6 |  |
Land Securities Group Plc | -1.43% | -8.20 | 564.00 |
| 7 |  |
Carnival Plc | -1.30% | -17.50 | 1,333.00 |
| 8 |  |
British Land Company Plc | -1.29% | -3.90 | 299.10 |
| 9 |  |
Rightmove Plc | -1.19% | -6.20 | 514.40 |
| 10 |  |
Anglo American Plc | -1.16% | -25.50 | 2,175.50 |
Monday newspaper round-up: BT, Vodafone, Issa brothers
British businesses are slowing down hiring just as the number of people looking for work rises, according to data that suggested “lingering uncertainty” over the economic outlook. The availability of candidates for new jobs rose in June at the sharpest rate since the height of the UK’s coronavirus restrictions in December 2020, according to the latest report on jobs by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG. – Guardian
Britain is returning to the gloom of the 1970s as customer satisfaction collapses at the fastest pace on record, new data shows. Energy and water companies were the worst performers in the country as high inflation and staff shortages triggered the sharpest year-on-year drop in customer satisfaction since the Institute of Customer Service began tracking the data in 2008. – Telegraph
BT is on high alert for a takeover spearheaded by its major shareholder Deutsche Telekom, in what would be a crucial test of Britain’s approach to European investment post-Brexit. The former state monopoly has intensified work with advisers from Robey Warshaw and Goldman Sachs on its defence in recent months amid strengthening rumours that its German counterpart, a 12pc shareholder in BT, was preparing an approach. – Telegraph
The UK chief executive of Vodafone has warned that investment in digital infrastructure will be cut and it will be unable to deliver on the government’s goals if it is prevented from merging with Three. Ahmed Essam said the business was not making the returns needed to cover its cost of capital and without the deal “we won’t be able to invest as much and we won’t be able to deliver the 5G ambition that’s coming in the wireless infrastructure strategy from the government. It will just slow us down.” – The Times
The billionaire brothers who own Asda are bankrolling a fledgling zero-emission lorry company and plan to create Britain’s first network of hydrogen fuel stations to support the decarbonisation of Britain’s 300,000 heavy goods vehicles. HVS, founded in Glasgow as Hydrogen Vehicle Systems in 2017, is testing and developing a lorry running on hydrogen fuel cells at the automotive industry’s Mira proving ground at Nuneaton, Warwickshire, after winning £21 million of taxpayer-funded grants. – The Times
