London close: Chinese data ensures positive finish, despite ISM miss

2nd Jun 2014 16:59

- FTSE closes up 19.59 points at 6,864.10- Chinese manufacturing sector improves- US ISM manufacturing gauge misses forecasts- German CPI surprise on the downsidetechMARK 2,822.41 +0.36%FTSE 100 6,864.10 +0.29%FTSE 250 16,084.40 +0.46%Lifted by positive manufacturing data from China, the FTSE 100 was able to end today's session higher, although gains were limited by misses on data elsewhere around the globe. The top tier index closed 19.59 points higher at 6,864.10. Mining stocks were buoyed by another jump in Chinese manufacturing activity, but investors were surprised by worse than expected German consumer price estimates, US ISM data and UK manufacturing. David Madden, Market Analyst at IG, said: "Although still in positive territory for the afternoon, the FTSE 100 has been pushed further away from its seemingly-unreachable 6,900 target after ISM data from the US came in worse than expected [...] "However, the FTSE 100 has clung on today thanks to the strenuous efforts of the mining sector, which continues to be buoyed by China optimism. Tomorrow's China PMI revision is not expected to contain any shocks, but this is evidently still a market that is worried about growth in that economy."Chinese manufacturing growth improvesChina's 'official' manufacturing sector purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 50.8 in May, up from 50.4 the month before, according to the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing. Growth came in at a five-month high and was slightly better than the 50.7 consensus forecast.Nevertheless, enthusiasm was tempered slightly by the news that Chinese house prices fell for the first time in nearly two years in May.In the UK, Markit's manufacturing PMI eased from 57.3 to 57 last month. However, this was expected by analysts and marked the 15th straight month of growth for the sector. Meanwhile, the final reading of May's Eurozone manufacturing PMI was revised down from 52.5 to 52.2. This compared to April's reading of 53.4 and surprised economists who had expected the initial estimate to remain unchanged.US ISM manufacturing gauge misses forecasts in MayThe Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) US manufacturing sector gauge for May rose to a reading of 60, from 54.9 in the month before. The consensus estimate had been for a print of 55.5.IG's Madden continued: "US indices turned red for the first time in five sessions, pushed back by the ISM reading. Most economists had been expecting a small increase that would tie in with the idea that the current quarter is a big improvement on the first quarter. "That idea has taken a knock today, although not seriously. However, the market does now appear to have entered a consolidation phase, with traders taking their cue from the ISM number to book gains and await developments from the European Central Bank and non-farms. Bond markets also remain quiet, as a 'wait and see' approach predominates."For their part, analysts at Barclays Research said: "We continue to expect that manufacturing activity growth will continue at a solid pace throughout the year." German CPI surprise on the downsideThe German consumer price index (CPI) is expected to decline by 0.1% month-on-month in May, according to a preliminary estimate from Germany's Federal Statistics Office. The consensus estimate had been for an increase of 0.2% over the month (1.1% on the year). Chinese PMI data drives miners higher The data out on Chinese manufacturing PMI drove mining stocks higher with Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Glencore all having made strong gains this afternoon. Shares in the latter two were also buoyed by the announcement Rio has completed the $1.02bn sale of its majority interest in the Clermont Mine in Australia, leaving buyer Glencore in charge. The disposal of the 50.1% stake, announced last October, "delivers good value for Rio Tinto's shareholders", the company said in a statement this morning.Housebuilder Barratt Developments rose after analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded the company from 'neutral' to 'buy' after the stock's recent weakness.Meanwhile, nervousness ahead of Tesco's first-quarter results prompted some profit taking in supermarket shares on Monday, which were among the worst performers in afternoon trade.The negative trend of UK like-for-like (LFL) sales at Tesco is likely to have worsened in its first quarter, analysts at Oriel Securities said.Insurance stocks such as Standard Life were also out of favour after reports suggested that the pension industry in the UK could undergo yet more reforms after the annuities shake-up in March. Investors were reacting to speculation about a potential Dutch-style collective pension scheme, which would reduce risks for pensioners but could be less lucrative for providers.FTSE 100 - RisersCoca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,418.00p +3.35%Royal Mail (RMG) 526.00p +2.73%Anglo American (AAL) 1,491.50p +2.33%Ashtead Group (AHT) 900.00p +2.21%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,063.00p +2.21%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,245.00p +2.13%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,120.00p +2.06%AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,370.50p +2.03%Shire Plc (SHP) 3,482.00p +1.99%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 401.30p +1.96%FTSE 100 - FallersSainsbury (J) (SBRY) 339.10p -2.02%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,027.00p -1.82%Standard Life (SL.) 393.30p -1.68%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 198.60p -1.54%Kingfisher (KGF) 386.50p -1.40%SABMiller (SAB) 3,275.50p -1.07%Tesco (TSCO) 300.55p -0.99%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,669.00p -0.85%Diageo (DGE) 1,907.00p -0.63%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,604.00p -0.61%FTSE 250 - RisersPayPoint (PAY) 1,115.00p +5.69%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 268.30p +4.40%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 1,672.00p +3.66%Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 307.70p +3.57%Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 182.60p +3.16%NMC Health (NMC) 500.00p +3.09%Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 2,268.00p +3.09%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 160.30p +2.95%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,347.00p +2.90%Perform Group (PER) 285.00p +2.89%FTSE 250 - FallersXaar (XAR) 830.00p -3.94%Ocado Group (OCDO) 375.80p -2.82%Playtech (PTEC) 664.00p -2.78%Pace (PIC) 364.90p -2.75%Just Retirement Group (JRG) 148.80p -2.55%Close Brothers Group (CBG) 1,296.00p -2.34%Genus (GNS) 1,045.00p -2.34%Evraz (EVR) 102.40p -2.29%Senior (SNR) 289.90p -2.13%Redefine International (RDI) 57.95p -2.11%NR