- Chinese GDP misses forecasts- Miners rise on speculation of police easing in China- Spanish bank borrowing nearly doublesLondon's blue-chip index was firmly lower by Friday lunchtime and US stock futures were pointing to a weak start on Wall Street as economic data from China and concerns over Spain's finances dampened sentiment.Gross domestic product (GDP) growth in China slowed to an annual rate of 8.1% in the first quarter of 2012, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, down from the 8.9% expansion seen in the fourth quarter of last year and worse than the +8.4% estimate. "This morning's disappointing Q1 GDP data has added even more doubt into investors' minds regarding the state of the global recovery, and that was reflected in early trading," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari.Rising yields in Spain were also causing some concern today. By 11:12 in Madrid, the yield on a 10-year Spanish bond was up 10.5 basis points at 5.925% despite a board member of the European Central Bank (ECB) assuring that rumours of a Spanish bailout were untrue. Meanwhile, gross borrowing by Spanish banks from the ECB nearly doubled from February to March, weighed on banking stocks across the continent - the STOXX Europe 600 Banks index was down 1.49%. FTSE 100: Miners gains on Chinese stimulus hopesThe miners were the best performers of the day, with Evraz, Polymetal, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Glencore making decent gains. While the Chinese GDP data did indeed come in below expectations, rumours are flying around the market that the 'weak' (by Chinese standards) growth may prompt the central bank to boost the economy by launching new stimulus measures.Xstrata and Glencore were on the rise even though they admitted this morning that their planned tie-up may take a little longer than expected, as they continue discussions with regulatory authorities which require anti-trust filings to be submitted. Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell was a high riser following Thursday's fall on the back of an oil sheen spotted near its operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The company released an statement late yesterday saying that following a thorough investigation, it could confirm that the oil did not come from its own platforms. Weighing on financial stocks today has been borrowing data from the Eurozone. Man Group, RBS, Admiral, Lloyds and Hargreaves Lansdown were providing a drag in London.Business software group Sage was the heavy faller early on after Jefferies downgraded its rating on the stock from buy to hold. "In the absence of any pronounced end-market recovery, we are tempering our group growth assumptions for FY12E, with a modestly improved EBIT margin expectation," the broker said. FTSE 250: Avocet falls after Inata update Burkina Faso-focused gold miner Avocet Mining says it may have to construct a new process plant at its Inata project, rather than just extend the existing plant, in order to provide more processing flexibility. Shares fell over 3%. ??Oil and gas group Premier Oil was in the red on the back of news that the company is to plug and abandon the Biawak Besar-1x exploration well in Indonesia. ??On the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), business communications services group Daisy was a heavy faller after announcing that its Chief Operating Officer Gareth Kirkwood has resigned with immediate effect.FTSE 100 - RisersEvraz (EVR) 364.80p +2.07%Polymetal International (POLY) 969.50p +1.04%Xstrata (XTA) 1,114.00p +0.77%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,966.00p +0.72%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,511.00p +0.69%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 293.30p +0.65%Anglo American (AAL) 2,285.00p +0.57%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,916.50p +0.52%Glencore International (GLEN) 406.70p +0.44%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,181.00p +0.32%FTSE 100 - FallersMan Group (EMG) 112.30p -2.69%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 25.32p -2.47%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,188.00p -2.38%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 31.33p -1.83%Sage Group (SGE) 290.10p -1.83%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 467.30p -1.68%Reed Elsevier (REL) 530.00p -1.58%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 577.00p -1.45%WPP (WPP) 847.50p -1.40%Schroders (SDR) 1,454.00p -1.36%FTSE 250 - RisersCable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 37.28p +5.13%Ruspetro (RPO) 199.70p +2.67%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 295.00p +2.54%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 240.00p +2.35%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 808.50p +2.21%Elementis (ELM) 198.00p +2.11%Rentokil Initial (RTO) 88.50p +2.08%Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,290.00p +2.06%Diploma (DPLM) 434.10p +2.00%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,188.00p +1.89%FTSE 250 - FallersPerform Group (PER) 284.20p -5.30%Avocet Mining (AVM) 167.50p -3.46%Spirit Pub Company (SPRT) 52.50p -3.23%Exillon Energy (EXI) 126.90p -2.98%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 63.30p -2.84%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 17.39p -2.79%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 343.80p -2.39%Cape (CIU) 377.00p -2.38%Close Brothers Group (CBG) 745.50p -2.29%Halfords Group (HFD) 295.10p -1.83%BC
Last checked at 
