2nd Jan 2014 10:51
LONDON (Alliance News) - UK stocks are trading mixed Thursday as investors digest an uneven set of manufacturing PMI reports and await the corresponding data from the US.
By mid-morning, the FTSE 100 is down 0.3% at 6,726.48, the FTSE 250 is down 0.3% at 15,885, while the AIM All-Share index is up 0.4% at 854.45.
In the first batch of macro-economic data in 2014, Markit Purchasing Managers' Index data showed the UK and German economies continuing to grow, while heightening concerns about France.
UK's manufacturing recovery remained on track at the end of 2013, survey data from Markit Economics revealed. The Markit PMI fell to 57.3 in December from November's 33-month high of 58.1. The November score was revised down from 58.4. Economists had expected a slightly more modest decline to 58 in December.
In the eurozone, the French and German economies continued to go their separate ways. The French manufacturing sector contracted at a faster rate in December than estimated earlier. The seasonally adjusted PMI for the manufacturing sector dropped to 47 in December from 48.4 in November, hitting the lowest level in seven months. The flash estimates were for a reading of 47.1 in December.
Meanwhile, the German manufacturing sector expanded slightly more than initially estimated in December. The Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 54.3 in December from 52.7 in November, coming in slightly above the initial estimate of 54.2.
Elsewhere, Italy's factory activity strengthened further in December. The seasonally-adjusted Markit PMI rose to 53.3 in December from 51.4 in November. Economists had expected to see a more modest rise to 51.8. The latest reading was the highest since April 2011, the survey report said.
The data meant that the eurozone's manufacturing sector growth picked up further in December, in line with expectations. The headline purchasing managers' index rose for the third month running to post 52.7 in December, unchanged from the flash reading and higher than November's score of 51.6.
In the immediate aftermath of the PMI releases, the euro climbed against the pound, the yen and the dollar, before retracing its gains soon after. The currency currently trades at USD1.3722, GBP0.8290, and JPY144.58.
Data released over night saw China's Markit PMI fall to a three-month low of 50.5 in December from 50.8 in November.
Investors will now await the equivalent release from the US at 1358 GMT.
At the individual UK stock level, Ophir Energy, trading down 6.4%, is the biggest faller in the FTSE 250. The company said that it has concluded its drilling operations on the Mlinzi Mbali-1 well in Block 7 in Tanzania. The well, which was the first of a series of high impact, high risk wells that Ophir will drill through 2014, did not encounter live hydrocarbons.
AIM All-Share-constituent Kalimantan Gold Corporation, down 26%, is another big faller. The junior exploration company has received a notice of intention from its joint-venture partner Surya Kencana LLC to cease funding and to withdraw from the the firms' copper project in Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Still to come in the data calendar Thursday, US jobless claims are scheduled at 1330 GMT. US Markit manufacturing is released at 1358 GMT, before the ISM manufacturing PMI report at 1500 GMT. Monthly construction spending information is also expected at 1500 GMT.
By James Kemp; [email protected]; @jamespkemp
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