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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were largely lower at midday on Monday, with the FTSE 100 trading in the red, weighed down by poor performances by mining stocks.
The FTSE 100 index was down 37.28 points, or 0.5%, at 7,909.83, while the FTSE 250 was up points 30.01 points, or 0.2%, at 19,955.78. The AIM All-Share was down 2.34 points, or 0.3%, at 862.63.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.5% at 791.60, the Cboe UK 250 was flat at 17,495.79, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.5% at 13,876.58.
Sterling was slightly stronger at midday on Monday, despite unexpected positive news for the UK construction sector.
Construction activity picked up in the UK during February, as a rebound in commercial work offset a continued decline in housebuilding.
The S&P Global/CIPS UK construction purchasing managers' index rose to 54.6 points in February, from 48.4 in January.
Crossing over the 50-point no-change mark, it shows the sector saw a strong expansion in activity during the month. The reading was the highest since May last year, and well ahead of market consensus of 48.5, as cited by FXStreet.
The pound was quoted at USD1.2006 at midday on Monday in London, higher compared to USD1.1979 at the close on Friday.
In London, miners were amongst the worst blue-chip performers at midday, with Anglo American, Glencore, and Fresnillo falling 4.2%, 3.0%, and 2.1%, respectively. This is a reversal of last week, when a 1.2% five-day rise for the FTSE 100 was largely thanks to the same mining stocks.
On Monday, the miners were hit by a prediction by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang that the Chinese economy will grow by "around 5%" this year. This is down from last year's growth target of 5.5%.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said this year's target was not as high as had been hoped, particularly given the recent resurgence in factory activity and business confidence following the lifting of Covid restrictions.
"This will nudge down hopes that China could provide the extra steam to offset declines in other major economies, prompted by efforts to rein in rampant inflation," she said.
Not just a powerhouse of the global economy, China is a major buyer of commodities, so the outlook for demand now looks gloomier than expected.
Brent oil was quoted at USD84.54 a barrel at midday in London on Monday, down from USD85.34 late Friday. Gold was quoted at USD1,848.67 an ounce, slightly higher against USD1,845.56.
In the FTSE 250, Aston Martin jumped 15% as Jefferies raised the target price for the stock to 160p from 120p.
Last Wednesday, the luxury carmaker hailed its "strongest order book in many years" and closed off 2022 with a good final quarter, setting off a series of price target hikes by analysts.
Clarkson was up 5.5% after it reported a "record" performance in 2022, with revenue and profit both rising by double-digit percentages, and it raised its payout for the 20th year in a row.
The integrated shipping services provider said revenue jumped by 36% to GBP603.8 million from GBP443.3 million, driven mainly by the Broking division, as pretax profit increased by 45% to GBP100.1 million from GBP69.1 million.
Chief Executive Officer Andi Case said it was a "record year" for Clarksons and the company looked ahead to 2023 with confidence.
Elsewhere in London, Foxtons climbed 4.5% after it said it bought Atkinson McLeod for GBP7.4 million, confirming a report by Sky News on Sunday.
Atkinson McLeod is an estate agent operating in central and east London with four branches and increases Foxtons' exposure to the lettings market. Foxtons said the acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings this year.
Meanwhile, James Fisher & Sons dropped 4.2%. The marine services provider said it sold its loss-making nuclear services business, James Fisher Nuclear, and its associated properties, and will take an impairment as a result.
James Fisher will receive the nominal sum of GBP3 for the business. It will impair the value of goodwill and tangible fixed assets of JFN in its annual results for 2022, in which the business will be shown as a discontinued operation.
In 2021, the division recorded a pretax loss of GBP100,000 on third-party revenue of GBP51.7 million.
On AIM, Fusion Antibodies plunged 32% after it said it expects annual revenue to be significantly below expectations as a result of continued uncertainty in the timings of orders.
Revenue in the financial year ending March 31 is now expected at no less than GBP2.8 million, "significantly" below current market expectations.
In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt were both up 0.3%.
The eurozone's construction sector contracted further in February, but at a slower pace than in January. The eurozone's construction PMI rose to 47.6 points in February from 46.1 in January.
In addition, retail sales in the eurozone unexpectedly fell year-on-year in January. Compared to January 2022, retail sales were 2.3% lower.
The decline slowed slightly from the annual fall of 2.8% seen in December. However, the result was well behind market consensus, which had expected growth of 1.9%.
The euro stood at USD1.0633, higher against USD1.0601. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY136.11, lower compared to JPY136.21.
US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will give his semi-annual report on monetary policy to Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday. Ricardo Evangelista said this could create scope for dollar losses, should the central bank head present a "less hawkish tone than some of his peers have done recently".
CMC Market's Michael Hewson said that it was unlikely that Powell will give too many clues "given how close to the next meeting we are", instead suggesting that the "main takeaway" is likely to be data dependence.
The next Federal Open Market Committee meeting is on March 21 and 22.
"However, don't be surprised if markets pore over every single nuance just so that they can reinforce their own particular mindset," Hewson added.
Stocks in New York were called flat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index were seen marginally lower, while the Nasdaq Composite was pointed marginally higher.
Still to come on Monday's economic calendar, US factory orders are published at 1500 GMT.
By Heather Rydings, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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