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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened flat to lower on Monday, with miners weighing on the FTSE 100 following weak PMI data from China and fears over the spreading coronavirus.
The internationally exposed FTSE 100 index was up just 0.61 of a point at 7,286.62
The more UK domestic-oriented FTSE 250 was up 10.89 points at 21,153.88, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.02 points, or 0.1% at 949.97.
The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.3% at 12,384.20. The Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 19,174.66, and the Cboe UK Small Companies was flat at 12,464.40.
In European equities, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.2% and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt up 0.3%.
In the FTSE 100, SSE rose 1.5% early Monday after Barclays raised the electricity utility to Overweight from Equal Weight.
At the other end of the large-cap index, internationally exposed mining stocks were in the red following disappointing purchasing managers' index data from China.
Rio Tinto was down 1.2%, BHP down 1.1%, Anglo American down 1.0% and Glencore down 0.7%.
China's manufacturing sector started the new year with the slowest rate of growth in five months, IHS Markit reported.
The Caixin purchasing managers' index was 51.1 in January, down from 51.5 in December. January's figure marks the slowest rate of improvement since August, when the index stood at 50.4. A figure over 50 reflects expansion in the manufacturing sector, while below means contraction.
However, optimism for the year ahead rose to a 22-month high, due to an easing of US-China trade tensions following the signing of a phase one trade deal, as well as new product launches and expectations for improving global demand conditions.
Shares in oil majors were in the red, tracking spot oil prices lower, with Royal Dutch Shell 'A' and 'B' shares down 0.9% and 0.8% respectively. Shares in BP, which reports annual results on Tuesday, were off 0.3%.
Brent oil was at USD56.32 a barrel early Monday, down from USD56.86 late Friday.
In the FTSE 250, Future was the best performer, up 5.5%. The magazine publisher said it expects annual results to be "materially ahead" of current market expectations, despite some uncertainty in the macro-economic environment.
At the other end of the large cap index, Aston Martin Lagonda was the worst performer, down 4.5% at 475.65 pence after Goldman Sachs cut its price target on the luxury carmaker to 390p from 520p.
Elsewhere, Ryanair Holdings was up 4.4%. The Irish carrier said it swung to a third-quarter net profit on a strong Christmas period.
Ryanair reported a net profit of EUR88 million, versus a EUR66 million loss a year before. Revenue for the quarter ended December 31 came in at EUR1.91 billion, up 21% from EUR1.58 billion a year ago, in what is a seasonally weak period for airlines.
Ryanair reported passenger growth of 6% to 35.9 million from 33.8 million, while its passenger load factor was 96%, up from 95% a year previous.
Ryanair expects annual earnings in financial 2020 to be at the mid-point of its latest profit after tax guidance. Earlier this month, Ryanair upped its annual profit after tax guidance range to between EUR950 million and EUR1.1 billion.
Peer easyJet was up 1.3% in a positive read-across.
In Asia on Monday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 1.0%. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed down 7.7%, but the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed up 0.3%. Shanghai reopened on Monday after being closed all last week for a extended Lunar New Year holiday.
Eleven more evacuees from coronavirus-hit China are beginning a two-week quarantine period after they were flown back to the UK on Sunday evening.
The British nationals and family members arrived at RAF Brize Norton on a flight from France shortly before 2000 GMT and will join 83 people already in isolation at Arrowe Park Hospital in the Wirral.
The latest repatriation flight came as a man in the Philippines became the first person to die from the virus outside China, where the death toll has risen above 300. Chinese authorities said the number of confirmed cases of infection had increased to 14,380. A University of York student and their relative remain the only two confirmed cases in the UK and the pair are being treated at a specialist unit in Newcastle.
Gold was quoted at USD1,575.60 an ounce early Monday, lower than USD1,586.60 late Friday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3144 early Monday, lower than USD1.3186 at the London equities close on Friday, as the UK looks ahead to life outside the European Union.
The EU and UK will set the stage for Brexit's next bruising chapter on Monday, laying down their vision and red lines for a post-divorce future following the UK's dramatic exit from the bloc.
After three years of fractious divorce talks, the next phase is promising to be just as bitter with a combative Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisting his country has nothing to prove to the EU now its 47-year membership of the bloc is at an end.
The colliding visions of EU-UK relations will need to be hammered out at an unprecedented pace with Johnson having flatly refused to extend the negotiating period beyond the end of this year.
Europe's Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier will propose his vision for a new foundation for ties in Brussels, with trade the most pressing issue, while Johnson will make his case in a speech in London.
The euro was trading at USD1.1081 early Monday, flat against USD1.1083 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY108.51 firm versus JPY108.40 late Friday.
The economic calendar on Monday has a swathe of manufacturing PMIs, from the eurozone, the UK, and the US.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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