London midday: Markets tread water on quiet day, but banks fall

- Volumes light with Wall Street closed for MLK Day- Chinese GDP growth slows down- UK business optimism improves, IMF to raise UK forecasts- Deutsche Bank surprises with Q4 losstechMARK 2,851.04 0.00%FTSE 100 6,831.82 +0.04%FTSE 250 16,212.26 +0.16%Stocks were rangebound on Monday morning as the FTSE 100 continues to tread water at an eight-month high on a subdued morning for markets across Europe.Volumes were said to be on the light side today given that Wall Street will remain closed later on for Martin Luther King Jr Day.The FTSE 100 was little changed by midday with 20 points or so separating its intraday low and high, after having finished Friday's session at 6,829.3 - its highest close since May 22nd 2013."Without the US, we are a bit light on fresh data to see the markets want to pull too hard in either direction, with Chinese gross domestic product (GDP) numbers providing the focal point of the day so far," said Toby Morris, Senior Sales Trader at CMC Markets.Asian markets were lower overnight after data showed that Chinese GDP expanded at a year-on-year rate of 7.7% in the fourth quarter of 2013, slightly ahead of the 7.6% growth expected but down from 7.8% the previous quarter.That means that GDP growth levelled out to 7.7% during 2013 as a whole, the same as 2012, though economists broadly predict a further slowdown next year.These concerns were countered slightly by an improving outlook closer to home, with UK business optimism improving in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to the quarterly CBI/PwC financial services survey. Meanwhile, reports that the International Monetary Fund is set to upgrade UK growth forecasts also boosted sentiment slightly. It is expected to lift its UK GDP growth projection in 2014 from 1.9% to 2.4%.Banks under pressureRBS was among the worst performers on the FTSE 100 this morning after analysts at JPMorgan Cazenove downgraded the stock to 'underweight'.Sentiment among banks was also dampened by Deutsche Bank reporting a surprise loss for its fourth quarter. In a statement released 10 days earlier than expected, the Germany bank revealed a pre-tax loss of €1.153bn, as litigation costs and restructuring weighed on results, as well as a sharp fall in fixed income revenue.Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC and Standard Chartered were also in the red this morning.Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell was also lower after agreeing to sell its stake in the Wheatstone liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia for $1.1bn in an effort to improve capital efficiency. This comes after the company disappointed investors with a big profit warning on Friday.Leading the upside on the blue-chip index were precious metal miners Fresnillo and Randgold which were both rising strongly with FTSE 250 peer Polymetal following suit.Diageo and SABMiller were on the rise as M&A activity continues to pick up in the global drinks industry. Just a few days after whisky maker Beam was bought for $16bn by Suntory, it was announced that AB InBev is buying back South Korean brewer Oriental Brewery for $5.8bn.FTSE 100 - RisersFresnillo (FRES) 773.00p +5.60%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,131.00p +4.45%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,216.00p +3.70%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,488.00p +2.41%Rexam (REX) 515.50p +1.98%Melrose Industries (MRO) 312.80p +1.49%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 852.00p +1.43%Anglo American (AAL) 1,410.50p +1.40%AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,928.50p +1.38%Sports Direct International (SPD) 720.50p +1.19%FTSE 100 - FallersRoyal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 355.80p -2.17%Barclays (BARC) 285.05p -1.23%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,877.00p -1.10%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 365.10p -0.95%BT Group (BT.A) 379.90p -0.91%British Land Co (BLND) 658.00p -0.90%Whitbread (WTB) 3,922.00p -0.73%easyJet (EZJ) 1,668.00p -0.71%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,998.00p -0.70%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 673.60p -0.60%FTSE 250 - RisersNMC Health (NMC) 495.00p +5.75%Polymetal International (POLY) 566.50p +5.10%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 120.00p +3.09%F&C Asset Management (FCAM) 90.40p +3.08%Carphone Warehouse Group (CPW) 279.40p +3.02%Vedanta Resources (VED) 946.50p +2.88%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 18.80p +2.34%Ocado Group (OCDO) 516.50p +2.28%Ted Baker (TED) 2,175.00p +2.11%Restaurant Group (RTN) 640.00p +1.99%FTSE 250 - FallersBank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 2,318.00p -2.97%Kentz Corporation Ltd. (KENZ) 668.50p -2.48%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 122.00p -2.01%Xaar (XAR) 1,021.00p -1.83%ICAP (IAP) 444.20p -1.79%Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 835.00p -1.71%Debenhams (DEB) 80.85p -1.46%Paragon Group Of Companies (PAG) 353.10p -1.45%Home Retail Group (HOME) 204.70p -1.40%FirstGroup (FGP) 139.30p -1.35%BC