Image Scan Holdings Share News (IGE)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Mining stocks are under pressure again in London Monday, following a series of broker downgrades and a weak set of Chinese economic data.

BHP Billiton, Antofagasta and Anglo American lead FTSE 100 decliners, down by between 2.6% and 2.8%. All three were the subject of rating or price target downgrades Monday. In the FTSE 250, Kaz Minerals, the former Kazakhmys, is the biggest faller in the FTSE 250.

China's exports logged an unexpected double-digit decline in March and imports fell more than expected, weighing on the outlook for economic growth in the first quarter.

Exports decreased 14.6% in March from last year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed Monday. Shipments were expected to grow 9%.

Suggesting weak domestic demand, imports dropped 12.3%, faster than an expected fall of 10%.

The trade surplus fell sharply to USD3.1 billion, below February's surplus of USD60.6 billion and a USD40.1 billion forecast by economists. Foreign trade slid 13.5% on a yearly basis.

Despite measures being taken by the government and the central bank to cushion growth, the world's second-largest economy is forecast to see slower growth this year. The quarterly gross domestic product figures to be released on Wednesday are likely to show that the economy grew 7.0% in the first quarter. Growth in the fourth quarter of 2014 was 7.3%, the weakest since early 2009.

The Chinese government targets around 7.0% growth for 2015 after seeing a 7.4% expansion in 2014, which was the slowest since 1990.

The World Bank said Monday that China's growth is expected to moderate to around to 7.1% in 2015 and to 7.0% in 2016. Earlier the official lender had estimated 7.2% growth for 2015 and 7.1% next year. As China shifts to a consumption-led, rather than an investment-led, growth model, the main challenge is to implement reforms that will ensure sustainable growth in the long run, the Washington-based lender noted.

Australian Treasurer Joe Hockney has warned that government revenue forecasts have been reduced by AUD25 billion over the next four years due to the decline in iron ore prices, the country's biggest export, the BBC reported Monday.

Hockney told the Australian Financial Review that his May budget would be based on the anticipated price of iron ore falling further to around USD35 a tonne. Iron ore is currently trading at around USD47 to USD48 per tonne, compared with USD120 a tonne in 2013. The price fall is primarily linked to the slowdown of activity in China.

Asian shares ended mixed Monday, despite the trade data, with Shanghai and Hong Kong shares extending recent sharp gains on expectation for more economic stimulus measures from Beijing.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index rallied 2.2%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 2.7%, extending gains for an eighth straight session.

Japanese shares ended flat after recent sharp gains. The benchmark Nikkei average slipped 2.17 points or 0.01% to close at 19,905.46 after climbing above the 20,000 level on Friday for the first time in 15 years.
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Markets: UK stocks are trading lower on a light day of company and economic news, as insurer Aviva, up 1.9%, leads FTSE 100 gainers on its first day of trading after the completion of its merger with Friends Life Group. Futures indicate Wall Street for a lower opening, with the DJIA, Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 all pointed down 0.1%.

FTSE 100: down 0.5% at 7,055.45
FTSE 250: down 0.3% at 17,815.76
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.1% at 736.29
GBP: down at USD1.4598
EUR: down at USD1.0525
GOLD: down at USD1,199.38 an ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD58.26 a barrel
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Top Corporate News
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EasyJet poached Halfords Group Chief Financial Officer Andrew Findlay to the same position at the low-cost airline, with the car-parts and bicycles retailer starting a search for a replacement. Findlay will remain at Halfords until the end of October, having been CFO of the company since February 1, 2011. Separately, Halfords said trading in the final quarter of its financial year was in line with management expectations.
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ICAP poached Hiscox Chief Financial Officer Stuart Bridges for the same role at the interdealer broker, with the specialist insurer starting a search for his successor. Bridges has been at Hiscox for 16 years, but will leave at the end of August once the company reports its half-year results in late July. ICAP's former CFO Iain Torrens had said he was stepping down last September to join TalkTalk Telecom Group, but had agreed to remain in place to ensure a smooth transition.
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TeleCity Group said its all-share takeover of European data centre services provider Interxion Holding NV has been cleared by the Federal Cartel Office of Germany. The takeover is still conditional upon other regulatory and anti-trust approvals, as well as shareholder approval. TeleCity continues to expect the deal to close in the second half of 2015.
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AIM Movers
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Richland Resources, up 25%. The gemstone miner said pre-production mining has now started at the Capricorn Sapphire project in Queensland in Australia. First production from Capricorn Sapphire is being targeted for May 2015, with the first sales under the Capricorn Sapphire brand to be made in June. Epistem Holdings, up 23%. The biotechnology company said it expects to imminently receive approval from Indian regulators for the launch of its Genedrive Tuberculosis and antibiotic resistance molecular diagnostic kit. Eco Animal Health Group, up 17%. The animal health pharmaceuticals producer said it is likely to exceed market profit expectations for the year to end-March on sales growth of more than 20% in sterling. The company said it has continued to make "strong sales progress from its more recently licensed drug registrations and by developing newly accessed markets with existing licences." Galasys, up 16%. The provider of ticketing software to amusement parks in Asia reported strong growth in profits in 2014, saying new contracts and strong demand from existing clients drove revenue up 45%, and it brought forward its maiden dividend payment. GETECH Group, up 15%. The geoscience services company said it has signed a "significant" contract with an unnamed national oil company. The contract, for which Getech did not provide any financial details, is for a three-year initial period with an option for it to be extended for a further two years.

Image Scan Holdings, off 25%. The company said it expects to post a pretax loss of around GBP380,000 for the first half of its financial year, widened from a pretax loss of GBP59,000 in the previous year, due to lower sales and the delayed availability of an x-ray generator to replace the waning supply of its existing generator.
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Other Top Economics And General
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Labour is set to guarantee that all of its policies will be fully funded and will require no additional borrowing when it tables its election manifesto later on Monday, as the party said it plans to crack down on tax avoidance and the Conservatives faced attacks over their inheritance tax and NHS spending policies. Labour leader Ed Miliband, who is due to launch the party manifesto Monday, will rule out a "shopping list of spending policies" and will pledge that a Labour government will cut the deficit every year. He will claim the Tories would go on a "reckless spending spree" if re-elected.
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Polling ahead of the UK General Election remained mixed, as Labour pulled ahead in a couple of polls but the Tories took the lead in another as they clawed away some support from the right-wing UK Independence Party. The latest YouGov/The Sun poll has Labour leading at 36% to the Tories 33%, though the YouGov/Sunday Times poll published on Sunday had the pair level-pegging on 34%. Both surveys have UKIP in third with 13% and the Liberal Democrats in fourth with 7%. The BBC and Sky News polls of polls both have Labour with a marginal lead, with the BBC seeing Labour at 34% to 33% for the Tories and Sky also with Labour at 34% but with the Tories at 32%.
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Members of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy board believe that the country's moderate economic recovery will continue at its current pace, the minutes from the board's March 16 and 17 meeting revealed. In its long-standing war with deflation, the board said inflation expectations appear to be rising - although the members cautioned that the upside was being capped by tumbling energy prices.
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France's current account deficit in February increased from the previous month, as the visible trade shortfall widened due to the reduction in the growth of international trade, figures from Bank of France showed. The seasonally adjusted current account deficit rose to EUR 1.8 billion in February from EUR 0.2 billion in January. The goods trade surplus increased to EUR 2.9 billion from EUR 2.3 billion a month ago. Meanwhile, the surplus on services trade shrank to EUR 1.1 billion in February from EUR 2.0 billion at the start of the year.
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The growth in the Irish construction sector accelerated moderately in March, after easing in the previous four months, survey figures from Markit Economics showed. The Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 52.9 in March from 52.0 in February. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector. But the rate of expansion remained much weaker than seen during 2014.
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Saudi Arabia rejected calls by its regional rival, Iran, to halt a multi-nation air campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen amid escalating tensions between Riyadh and Tehran. "How can Iran call on us to stop the fighting although the fighting in Yemen has been there for more than a year?" Saudi Foreign Minister Saudi al-Faisal said in the Saudi capital Riyadh. "We came to Yemen to help the legitimate authority and Iran is not in charge of Yemen." Saudi Arabia is leading eight Sunni fellow Arab countries in mounting a campaign of airstrikes against the Houthis, who have taken over vast areas of Yemen. Saudis have repeatedly accused Shiite Iran of aiding the Shiite Houthis, an accusation denied by both the Yemeni rebels and Tehran.
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Former secretary of state and past US first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton announced Sunday in an online video that she is seeking the left-leaning Democratic Party's 2016 presidential nomination. Clinton, 67, is slated to travel this week to the Midwestern state of Iowa, which holds the first of the state presidential contests through which both major parties choose their presidential nominees. In a video posted to her campaign website, Clinton declares she wants to be a champion for ordinary Americans fighting to get ahead as the US economy improves.
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Cuban President Raul Castro and US President Barack Obama met face-to-face Saturday in Panama, pledging to work together to establish diplomatic relations in the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries in more than 50 years. "This is obviously an historic meeting," Obama said. "We are now in a position to move on a path toward the future."
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Jordan Spieth rewrote Masters history Sunday by winning the 79th edition of the golf tournament at Augusta with a joint record score of 270, 18-under par, triumphing by four shots from Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose. Leading by four at the start of the final round, Spieth slipped occasionally early on the front nine to allow Rose to close within three shots of the lead. But Rose, the 2013 US Open champion, could not cut the gap further and Spieth steadied himself by the turn to storm to victory, banishing the ghosts of 2014 when he lost a two-shot lead in the final round to finish tied second. The 18-under score equals the Masters record set by Tiger Woods in 1997 when he won the tournament for the first time.
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Afternoon Watchlist (all times in BST)

19:00 US Monthly Budget Statement
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Tuesday's UK Corporate Events

Porvair - Interim Management Statement
Ashmore Group - Interim Management Statement
International Biotechnology Trust - Half Year Results
MP Evans - Full Year Results
Michael Page International - Q1 Interim Management Statement
Poundland - Q4 Trading Statement
Polymetal International - Full Year Results
Horizon Discovery - Full Year Results
Keywords Studios - Full Year Results
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Tuesday's Key Economic Events (all times in BST)

00:01 UK BRC Retail Sales Monitor
Germany Wholesale Price Index
09:00 Italy Consumer Price Index
09:30 UK Consumer, Retail and Producer indices
09:30 UK DCLG House Price Index
10:00 EU Industrial Production
13:00 US Fed Minneapolis's Narayana Kocherlakota speech
13:30 US Producer Price Index
13:30 US Retail Sales
13:55 US Redbook index
14:00 US NFIB Business Optimism Index
15:00 US Business Inventories
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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