Britain's FTSE dips again
Britain’s top share index declines for a third straight session on Wednesday.
|||London - Britain's top share index fell for a third straight session on Wednesday, hit again by stocks with exposure to China after the latest batch of data hinted that deflationary pressures were building up.
China-exposed stocks were among the top fallers, with miners like Glencore, Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered and luxury firm Burberry down 2-3 percent.
The falls came after consumer inflation in China cooled more than expected in September. Producer prices also extended their slide to a 43rd straight month, adding to concerns about deflationary pressures in the world's second-largest economy.
The data came just a session after figures that showed imports had slumped, hitting many of the same sectors.
“Downbeat data from China - this time in the shape of weaker than expected inflation - is adding another layer of concern as to how the world's second largest economy is managing the slowdown,” said Tony Cross, market analyst at Trustnet Direct.
“As a result the base metal mining stocks once again are wearing more than their fair share of the losses.”
Britain's FTSE 100 was down 61.00 points, or 1 percent, at 6,281.51 points by 07h48 GMT, down for a third straight session and 2 percent lower for the week.
The index is 12 percent off of record highs hit in April, having been knocked back by concerns over Chinese growth after China allowed its currency to devalue in August.
The market turmoil hit the results of fund supermarket Hargreaves Lansdown. It said that first quarter assets under administration fell by 500 million pounds, weighed by stock market falls.
However, its shares rose to their highest level in over a year, up 7.8 percent after the update as new business inflows hit a record high, with brokerage Numis describing it as a “strong trading update” despite difficult market conditions.
“The group's scale benefits are substantial and unmatched providing it with by far the highest operating margin and the buying power to provide the cheapest fund prices in the market,” analysts at Numis write in a note, raising its earning forecasts and rating the stock as a “buy”.
“We expect the high marginal margin and industry growth to more than offset the expected ongoing industry price compression.”
REUTERS