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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened lower on Monday, as investors eye some key data from the eurozone due out this morning.
So far this morning, there has been new data showing that the Chinese manufacturing sector continued to slump in July.
The FTSE 100 index opened down 15.07 points, 0.2%, at 7,679.20. The FTSE 250 was down 30.53 points, 0.2%, at 19,093.61, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.29 of a point at 765.94.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 765.62, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.2% at 16,751.33, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.3% at 13,732.37.
China announced fresh measures Monday to boost consumption, providing further support to markets, after the government on Friday unveiled a number of initiatives for light industry.
Meanwhile, a fresh round of figures showed the country's manufacturing activity continued to shrink in July, albeit at a slightly slower pace than last month.
The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index – a key measure of factory output – came in at 49.3, below the 50-point mark that separates expansion and contraction, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
July's reading was slightly higher than June's 49.0 figure and was better than forecasts in a Bloomberg survey.
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 1.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.5%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.9X%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed [up 0.1%.
Monday's economic calendar has inflation and gross domestic product readings from the eurozone at 1000 BST.
According to FXStreet consensus, GDP in the second quarter is expected to be up 0.4% year-on-year, slowing from a 1.0% rise in the previous quarter. Quarter-on-quarter, GDP is expected to be up 0.2%, moving back into positive territory from a 0.1% fall the previous quarter.
Also according to FXStreet, EU CPI is expected to cool to 5.3% in July annually, slowing from a 5.5% increase in June.
In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down marginally, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.1%.
The pound was quoted at USD1.2863 early on Monday in London, virtually compared to USD1.2861 at the equities close on Friday. The euro stood at USD1.1025, lower against USD1.1030. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY142.06, up compared to JPY140.53.
In the FTSE 100, BT shed 0.7%,
BT named Allison Kirkby as its new chief executive officer, about three weeks after the company officially started its search for a new CEO.
She will take over from outgoing CEO Philip Jansen around the end of January 2024 at the latest. Jansen will be available to support the handover until the end of March, when BT's financial year 2024 ends.
Kirkby has been CEO of Telia since early 2020. Telia, headquartered in Sweden, is a digital communications and telecommunications provider with around 25 million customers across the Nordic and Baltic region. She has also been a non-executive director at BT Group since 2019.
Chair Adam Crozier said: "The board is delighted to have appointed Allison as our new chief executive. She is a proven leader, with deep sector experience and a history of having transformed businesses."
Education publisher Pearson rose by 1.3%.
It said pretax profit in the six months ended June 30 rose to GBP236 million from GP185 million a year earlier. Sales climbed to GBP1.88 billion from GBP1.79 billion.
On the back of the results, Pearson proposed an interim dividend of 7.0p per share, versus 6.6p year-on-year.
Looking ahead, the company said that it is confident in achieving 2023 expectations.
In the FTSE 250, Marshalls dropped 7.8%.
The West Yorkshire-based natural stone and concrete manufacturer expects to report revenue of GBP354 million for the six months that ended June 30, up 1.7% from GBP348 million a year before. However, this includes four additional months of contribution from its recent acquisition of Marley. On a like-for-like basis, revenue fell by 13%, Marshalls said.
Adjusted pretax profit for the half year is expected to be around GBP33 million, down from GBP45 million.
Looking ahead, Marshalls said it expects the second half of 2023 to be below its previous expectations, meaning the full year will be as well.
The company said it will cut about 250 jobs, adding to the 150 roles removed in the second half of last year. This is expected to result in annualised savings of about GBP9 million, with 40% of this being realised in 2023.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.5%, the S&P 500 up 1.0% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.9%.
Brent oil was quoted at USD84.36 a barrel early in London on Monday, up from USD83.67 late Friday. Gold was quoted at USD1,955.12 an ounce, lower against USD1,962.33.
The week picks up speed with manufacturing data from across the globe on Tuesday, before a Bank of England interest rate decision on Thursday and the latest US nonfarms payrolls data on Friday.
By Sophie Rose, Alliance News reporter
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