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London open: Markets pause after strong run last week

Mon, 13th May 2013 08:48

Weakness in the financial sector meant that the FTSE 100 was in the red on Monday morning, with investors pausing for breath after the index reached fresh multi-year highs last week.London's benchmark index reached a closing price of 6,625 on Friday afternoon, a level not seen since late 2007, meaning that it has gained a total of 12% in 2013 so far."European financial markets have kicked off the first session of the week on a softer note following strong gains over the past week with traders now awaiting economic data to act as fresh catalyst for direction," said Market Strategist Ishaq Siddiqi from ETX Capital.Dampening sentiment this morning was industrial output data from economic powerhouse China which clocked in below expectations for April. The country's National Bureau of Statistics said that industrial production rose at an annual rate of 9.3%, accelerating from the 8.9% growth in March but under the 9.4% consensus estimate. Chinese retail sales growth however matched predictions at 12.8% year-on-year in April, up from 12.6% the month before.The G7 summit over the weekend showed support for Japan's ultra-loose monetary policy, easing concerns that Japanese officials would come under pressure given the recent weakening in the yen - the currency last week broke above 100 against the dollar.The focus of today's session will likely be on the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels with finance ministers expected to discuss the aid package to Cyprus as well as the release of the next part of Greece's bailout. Senior Market Analyst Michael Hewson from CMC Markets said: "The thorny subject of what to do about the horrific rises in unemployment, particularly amongst young people, is also likely to be high up the agenda, as pressure continues to build with respect to an easing up on the austerity theme, and a more focussed policy towards growth."FTSE 100: Financials under pressure early onFinancial stocks were among the worst performers in early trading as risk appetite is scaled back following last week's strong gains. Standard Chartered, Barclays HSBC and Lloyds were all registering losses early on.Lloyds slumped after the part-nationalised lender revealed that Chairman Sir Winfried Bischoff would retire within the year, a move thought to be in anticipation of the bank's potential privatisation.Broadcasting group ITV was also lower after acquiring a controlling stake in High Noon Entertainment, a firm which supplies reality and entertainment shows for US cable networks.Glencore Xstrata, the newly merged commodities trader and mining giant, was out of favour despite recording production growth across most of its asset classes in the first quarter. However the company did admit that its Marketing division saw "some softening in prices towards the end of the quarter". Sector peer Vedanta was being weighed down by a ratings cut by Deutsche Bank to 'hold'.Heading the other way was utilities provider Centrica after saying that it has performed well to date and expects full-year earnings growth to be line with market expectations as it starts its £500m share buy-back programme.FTSE 250: Ocado and Rank provide a dragOnline grocery firm Ocado was sharply lower this morning on reports that Waitrose could launch legal action if it breaches its contract to help rival supermarket Morrison develop an internet shopping site.Meanwhile, Mecca bingo owner Rank Group declined after saying that full-year figures are likely to come in "marginally below" last year, owing to the cold weather in the third quarter which dented the top line.FTSE 100 - RisersAntofagasta (ANTO) 936.50p +2.57%G4S (GFS) 251.00p +1.33%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,372.00p +1.02%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,686.50p +0.99%Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,084.00p +0.93%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 291.40p +0.90%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,178.00p +0.86%Capita (CPI) 929.00p +0.81%SSE (SSE) 1,588.00p +0.70%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,045.00p +0.70%FTSE 100 - FallersStandard Chartered (STAN) 1,516.00p -4.23%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 266.70p -3.33%Anglo American (AAL) 1,561.50p -1.85%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 57.99p -1.61%Carnival (CCL) 2,360.00p -1.54%Pearson (PSON) 1,190.00p -1.33%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 734.90p -1.33%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 295.80p -1.24%Barclays (BARC) 310.60p -1.21%Aviva (AV.) 319.70p -1.14%FTSE 250 - RisersLonmin (LMI) 294.90p +5.77%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 39.14p +3.35%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 128.40p +2.72%Betfair Group (BET) 920.00p +2.45%Renishaw (RSW) 1,748.00p +1.63%Regus (RGU) 172.50p +1.47%Petropavlovsk (POG) 147.80p +1.16%Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) 1,072.00p +1.13%Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 2,805.00p +1.08%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 1,909.00p +1.06%FTSE 250 - FallersOcado Group (OCDO) 210.00p -6.50%Rank Group (RNK) 157.70p -5.00%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 28.35p -3.01%Diploma (DPLM) 587.50p -2.00%Inmarsat (ISAT) 701.00p -1.82%Carpetright (CPR) 653.50p -1.73%IP Group (IPO) 149.50p -1.64%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,506.00p -1.50%Persimmon (PSN) 1,086.00p -1.45%Invensys (ISYS) 393.90p -1.45%BC

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