- US ADP data well below expectations- Eurozone manufacturing, employment figures weigh on sentiment- Banks, miners among worst performers in LondonThe Footsie finished close to its lowest levels of the day on Wednesday, nearly erasing its impressive rise the day before, as some worse-than-expected manufacturing and employment data from across the globe fuelled a steep sell-off.Markit's Eurozone manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropped to 45.9 in April, down from 47.7 in March. Anything under 50 denotes a contraction in output and the latest figure comes close to a three-year low. Even Germany saw its manufacturing sector contract. Meanwhile, the Eurozone unemployment rate rose from 10.8% to 10.9% in March, the highest level in nearly 15 years. The numbers will add impetus to claims that European politicians are focusing too strongly on austerity and this approach is damaging growth. Across the pond, US private-sector employment rose by a much worse-than-expected 119,000 in April, according to payrolls-processor Automatic Data Processing (ADP). Consensus estimates were for a gain of 175,000. The average reading over the first quarter of 2012 saw increases of around the 200,000-mark.FTSE 100: Banks, miners suffer sell-offThe banking and mining sectors, often sensitive to economic data, dived on Wednesday afternoon after indicators from the Eurozone and the US disappointed.A negative market reaction to Standard Chartered's first-quarter trading update further dampened sentiment in the banking sector today, taking down the likes of Barclays, Lloyds and RBS. While StanChart highlighted "high single-digit income growth" in the first three months of 2012, it did reveal that some foreign exchange headwinds had an adverse impact. "Macroeconomic sentiment is showing signs of improvement, although there remain clear uncertainties and risks in the global environment," said the bank's Chief Executive Peter Sands. Lloyds was also a heavy faller, a day after the release of its first-quarter results. There were reports today that the company is about to slash its share of the UK mortgage market by three percentage points. Resources stocks dropped today with Kazakhmys, Xstrata, Fresnillo, Vedanta Resources and Antofagasta among the worst performers. Xstrata, it is worth noting, also went ex-dividend today. Other notable stocks trading without the right to their latest dividends included Admiral, ARM Holdings and Kingfisher.Fashion chain Next rose after sticking with full-year guidance given in March after first quarter sales showed a small year-on-year improvement, helped by contributions from new stores. ?? Broadcaster and broadband group BSkyB was making gains after reporting record nine-month operating profit. Meanwhile, the firm insisted it was 'fit and proper to hold its broadcasting licences' as the fall-out from the News Corporation hacking scandal continues. ?? FTSE 250: Home Retail drops after full-year results disappointArgos and Homebase owner Home Retail dropped after it revealed a 9% decline in like-for-like sales as pre-tax profit plunged 60% after particular weakness in consumer electronics. Merchant Securities reiterates its sell rating on the stock today, saying that shares are overvalued, trading at a premium to the sector.Fund manager Henderson fell after seeing net outflows in the first quarter of 2012 despite assets under management having grown on the back of the recovery in equities. ?? Meanwhile, CSR, Kesa Electricals, Morgan Crucible and Renishaw were also performing well on the back of broker upgrades. FTSE 100 - RisersNext (NXT) 2,971.00p +2.59%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 121.80p +2.27%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,515.00p +2.16%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,516.00p +2.16%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 701.50p +1.52%Whitbread (WTB) 1,973.00p +1.39%Diageo (DGE) 1,590.00p +1.27%Pearson (PSON) 1,161.00p +0.69%Experian (EXPN) 997.50p +0.66%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,027.00p +0.55%FTSE 100 - FallersBarclays (BARC) 213.65p -5.55%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 32.08p -4.52%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,453.00p -3.90%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 850.00p -3.13%Man Group (EMG) 94.75p -3.12%Xstrata (XTA) 1,169.00p -2.99%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,569.00p -2.73%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,206.00p -2.58%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,159.00p -2.52%Evraz (EVR) 366.90p -2.32%FTSE 250 - RisersRank Group (RNK) 121.00p +6.61%Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 828.00p +5.95%Spirit Pub Company (SPRT) 59.75p +5.75%CSR (CSR) 235.30p +5.61%COLT Group SA (COLT) 112.70p +5.33%Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 487.90p +5.17%Drax Group (DRX) 574.00p +4.08%Rightmove (RMV) 1,579.00p +3.14%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 56.00p +2.85%Provident Financial (PFG) 1,200.00p +2.74%FTSE 250 - FallersHome Retail Group (HOME) 87.55p -13.32%Henderson Group (HGG) 115.80p -5.39%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 177.80p -5.32%Chemring Group (CHG) 371.90p -5.10%Petropavlovsk (POG) 462.20p -3.33%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 33.85p -3.29%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 479.90p -3.25%Ocado Group (OCDO) 122.90p -3.23%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 356.60p -3.12%Ruspetro (RPO) 187.00p -3.11%BC
Last checked at 
