By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- London stocks struggled for direction on
Monday with banks under pressure and some miners also losing ground
after a batch of wobbly Chinese economic data.
The FTSE 100 index was flat at 6,482.28, with decliners
outpacing gainers. The index closed at the highest level since Dec.
27, 2007 on Friday at 6,483.58. Gains followed much
stronger-than-expected U.S. payrolls data on Friday.
Banks were holding the index back, with the heaviest-weighted
index component, HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC), down 0.7%. Barclays PLC
(BCS) fell 1.7% and Standard Chartered PLC fell 0.6%. Lloyds
Banking Group PLC (LYG) fell 1.6%.
Among other big movers, shares of Sage Group PLC lost more than
3% after Bank of America Merrill Lynch reportedly cut shares to
underperform from neutral
A batch of softer economic data out of China also weighed on
sentiment Monday. Data showed rising inflation, and slowing
industrial production and retail sales. Read: China inflation
climbs; other indicators soften.
Miners, sensitive to data out of China that shows a slowdown in
the economy--the country is a major buyer of natural
resources--fell across the board. Shares of EVRAZ PLC fell 2%,
while Kazakhmys PLC fell 1.3%.
But Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari U.K., brushed aside
that data.
"While the Chinese data is a concern, investors are still
focusing more on the strong employment figures out of the U.S. on
Friday," he said in emailed comments. "The nonfarm payrolls figure
smashed even the most optimistic of forecasts, while unemployment
fell by 0.2%, the clearest sign yet that businesses have not been
discouraged by the political issues in Washington and higher taxes
for consumers."
On the upside, shares of IMI PLC rose 1.5% and drinks maker
SABMiller PLC also rose 1.5%.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires