London close: Stocks lower amid second Covid wave concerns

(Sharecast News) - London stocks finished in the red on Monday, amid concerns about a second wave of coronavirus infections, as investors mulled the latest reading on the UK manufacturing sector.
The FTSE 100 ended the session down 0.76% at 6,244.62, and the FTSE 250 was 0.64% lower at 17,573.44.

Sterling was stronger on both of its major trading pairs, last rising 0.82% on the dollar to $1.2451, and advancing 0.1% against the euro to €1.1058.

Concerns around a second wave weighed on sentiment following a rise in infections in Germany, where the 'R' rate increased to 2.88 on Sunday from 1.79 the day before after an outbreak at a slaughterhouse.

In addition, consumer technology giant Apple's decision to temporarily re-close 11 stores in Florida, Arizona and the Carolinas due to rising infection rates also sparked consternation.

"Traders on this side of the Atlantic are worried about the increase in the number of new Covid-19 cases," said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

"The Americas, China, India and Germany have seen relatively sharp increases in new infections, and that has weighed on confidence for much of the session.

"The losses aren't huge so traders are not that worried, but they are cautious that some of the good work that has been done in relation to suppressing the virus could be undone."

On home shores, meanwhile, the latest survey from the Confederation of British Industry did little to lift the mood.

It showed manufacturers suffered their worst quarter on record in the three months to June amid disruption from the coronavirus outbreak.

The CBI's total orders balance rose to -58 in June from a 38-year low of -62 in May, but was below consensus expectations for a reading of -50.

Meanwhile, the measure of industrial output over the past three months fell to its lowest level since the measure began in 1975, to -57 from -54.

Still, Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the survey is "almost certainly" understating the pace of the recovery in manufacturing output from its 28% fall between February and April.

"The total orders balance is derived from firms reporting whether orders are above or below 'normal' levels," he said.

"Firms give the same response to the survey if orders are 1% below normal or 99% below normal, so the balance tells us little about how activity has changed at manufacturers that were hit by Covid-19."

"The CBI's survey was far too slow to register the recovery in output after the 2008-to-09 recession- the total orders balance remained negative throughout 2010, when manufacturing output rebounded- and we suspect it will give an overly downbeat steer this time too."

In equity markets, British Airways and Iberia parent IAG plunged 4.6%, following reports the company could be looking to raise up to £1.5bn of fresh cash.

Miner Glencore lost 3.49% after saying late on Friday that it was facing a Swiss probe over alleged corruption in Congo.

Retailer JD Sports Fashion was off 2.47% after confirming it had filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators for its camping unit Go Outdoors as it considered a number of "strategic options" for the chain.

Going the other way, housebuilders were on the rise, with Taylor Wimpey up 0.97%, Barratt Developments adding 1.81% and Berkeley 2.95% higher.

Precious metals miners sparkled, with Fresnillo, Polymetal, Hochschild and Centamin ahead 4.46%, 0.2%, 2.75% and 5.35% higher, respectively, as gold prices hit a one-month high amid Covid concerns.

In individual stocks, shares of cybersecurity firm Avast closed up 2.47%, with traders pointing to an upbeat research note from Goldman Sachs.

Outsourcer Capita rocketed 13.19% after announcing late on Friday that it is preparing to sell off its education software business.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,244.62 -0.76%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,573.44 -0.64%
techMARK (TASX) 3,783.06 -0.76%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,052.00p 5.02%
Fresnillo (FRES) 814.80p 4.46%
Kingfisher (KGF) 217.70p 4.21%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 196.45p 3.18%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 206.60p 3.15%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,427.00p 2.86%
Avast (AVST) 520.50p 2.66%
Tesco (TSCO) 233.00p 2.46%
Rightmove (RMV) 590.80p 1.76%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,694.50p 1.74%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 259.00p -4.60%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 319.30p -4.46%
Diageo (DGE) 2,796.50p -3.57%
Glencore (GLEN) 166.20p -3.36%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 3,863.00p -3.30%
Aveva Group (AVV) 4,045.00p -2.79%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,947.50p -2.77%
WPP (WPP) 642.60p -2.67%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 381.35p -2.57%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 631.00p -2.47%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Capita (CPI) 48.75p 13.19%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 227.00p 6.82%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 255.80p 5.70%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,245.00p 5.51%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 173.35p 4.87%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 1,114.00p 4.80%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 32.00p 4.07%
Inchcape (INCH) 518.00p 4.06%
Man Group (EMG) 135.90p 3.94%
Cranswick (CWK) 3,652.00p 3.40%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Carnival (CCL) 1,119.00p -10.23%
Energean (ENOG) 466.50p -7.81%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 792.00p -7.15%
Aggreko (AGK) 460.60p -7.02%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 208.90p -6.87%
Hilton Food Group (HFG) 1,212.00p -6.34%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,315.00p -5.89%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 179.00p -4.99%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 422.80p -4.47%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,103.00p -4.34%