- Chinese economic figures weigh on mining stocks- JP Morgan trading loss dents UK banks- UK factory gate inflation eases less than expectedA surprise trading loss from US banking giant JP Morgan, weaker-than-expected Chinese economic data and ongoing concerns about the Eurozone weighed on sentiment on Friday, with the Footsie trading firmly lower by lunchtime.The European Commission (EC) said today that the Eurozone is in a "mild recession" but a recovery is "forecast to set in slowly from the second half of the year on." For 2012 as a whole, GDP is expected to contract by 0.3% and then expand by 1% in 2013. "A recovery is in sight, but the economic situation remains fragile, with still large disparities across member states," Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn said.As part of its spring economic forecasts this morning, the EC said that Spain's budget deficit is likely to reach 6.4% of GDP this year, compared to the 5.3% target promised by the Spanish government. Elsewhere, there are rumours that Spain could ask for substantial support from the Eurozone bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), to help out with "problematic" property and construction assets held by its banks.Chinese industrial production increased by 9.3% year-on-year (y/y) last month, down from the 11.9% rise in March and well below the 12.2% gain expected - this was the lowest growth rate since May 2009. Fixed asset investment growth slowed from 20.9% to 20.2% in April, its worst level since late 2002. Meanwhile, Chinese consumer price inflation slowed from 3.6% to 3.4% in April, under the government's 4% target again, fuelling speculation for further monetary easing from authorities.UK banking stocks were under pressure today after US investment bank JP Morgan Chase & Co shocked the market after the bell on Thursday by revealing its second-quarter performance will be dented by a huge trading loss on synthetic credit securities at its Chief Investment Office. The firm said that so far the losses amounted to $2bn but could "easily increase during the quarter". US stock futures were pointing to a weak start on Wall Street after the opening bell in a few hours' time with JP Morgan likely to be very much in focus.In domestic news, UK producer output prices in April were up 3.3% from the year before, having been up 3.7% y/y in March. The good news was that April's y/y increase was the lowest since December 2009; the bad news was that the market had been expecting an increase of just 2.9%FTSE 100: Banks, miners take a hitBanks were heavy fallers in the opening hour on the back of the JP Morgan surprise trading loss. Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and HSBC were among the worst performers. One stock in the financial sector bucking the trend though was hedge fund manager Man Group which jumped after an upgrade from HSBC.Mining stocks were pushed lower after the gloomy Chinese data weighed on the demand outlook from the world's second-largest economy. Falling metals prices were also providing some downward pressure. Vedanta, Evraz, Xstrata, Glencore, Kazkahmys, Rio Tinto and ENRC were firmly out of favour this morning, with the latter being weighed down by a target price cut from UBS after the miner's first-quarter production figures missed estimates.Soaring fuel costs contributed to a larger-than-expected first quarter loss at International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) but shares edged higher as revenues grew by 7.8% y/y.Oil and gas services group Petrofac fell despite saying that its year-to-date performance has been in line with expectations and it still remains on track to grow net profits by at least 15% in 2012. FTSE 250: Catlin avoids catastrophe claims Speciality insurance company Catlin Group jumped after seeing an increase in the amount of premiums written in the three months to the end of March, while avoiding any catastrophe claims. Overall premiums are up 12% against the prior year, totalling $1.642bn. ?Mining stocks dropped, tracking their top-tier counterparts lower with Hochschild Mining, Lonmin, Ferrexpo, Petropavlovsk, Bumi, Avocet Mining and New World Resources suffering steep losses. FTSE 100 - RisersMan Group (EMG) 88.90p +3.43%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,694.00p +3.17%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 357.60p +2.79%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,027.00p +1.86%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 315.00p +1.81%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 165.50p +1.53%United Utilities Group (UU.) 639.00p +1.43%Centrica (CNA) 314.30p +1.32%Experian (EXPN) 920.50p +1.15%Next (NXT) 2,986.00p +1.12%FTSE 100 - FallersVedanta Resources (VED) 1,073.00p -4.03%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 515.50p -4.00%Xstrata (XTA) 1,050.50p -3.45%Evraz (EVR) 336.20p -3.11%Glencore International (GLEN) 384.15p -3.11%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 256.30p -2.51%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 756.50p -2.51%Barclays (BARC) 203.60p -2.49%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,578.00p -2.47%Polymetal International (POLY) 797.50p -2.33%FTSE 250 - RisersHome Retail Group (HOME) 81.85p +4.47%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 122.30p +3.21%Telecity Group (TCY) 788.00p +2.87%Debenhams (DEB) 78.95p +2.60%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 132.50p +2.55%Spirit Pub Company (SPRT) 56.00p +2.28%Perform Group (PER) 306.50p +2.17%Booker Group (BOK) 77.30p +2.11%Essar Energy (ESSR) 132.30p +2.08%Halfords Group (HFD) 282.00p +2.06%FTSE 250 - FallersImagination Technologies Group (IMG) 595.00p -5.85%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 17.49p -4.06%Bumi (BUMI) 443.90p -4.04%Petropavlovsk (POG) 419.40p -3.85%Lonmin (LMI) 912.50p -3.74%Babcock International Group (BAB) 778.00p -3.47%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 145.00p -3.33%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 253.20p -3.17%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 421.30p -2.97%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 54.35p -2.95%BC
Last checked at 
