London’s blue-chip stocks opened lower this morning following on from disappointing overnight sessions in the US and Asia.
In Asia, Chinese inflation data showed a gain that was a tad lower than analysts had expected, while producer prices were weaker than the previous month.
Meanwhile, in the US, the Dow Jones closed 82 points down at 17,767 due to Greece uncertainty and suggestions that the US fed may raise rates sooner than some expect.
Back in the UK, the FTSE 100 was treading water at 6,787, nudging 3 points lower than yesterday’s close but less than analysts had predicted.
Europe’s biggest lender HSBC (LON:HSBA) grabbed the headlines as it said it is slashing up to 25,000 jobs worldwide and offloading businesses in a drive to save up to $5bn a year by 2017.
The Asia-focused bank is expected to cut up to 8,000 of its 47,500-strong UK workforce as part of the restructuring. Shares were flat on the news, however, at 619p.
Leading the fallers was mining giant Anglo American (LON:AAL) after it was downgraded by Societe Generale
The miner was bumped down to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ and investors responded, with shares easing 2.6% to 978p.
The broker also downgraded fellow miner Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) which eased 2% to 2,762p.
At the other end of the index, Reed Elsevier (LON:REL) was the biggest gainer after an upgrade from Barclays.
The bank now sees the stock as ‘overweight’ rather than ‘equal weight’ and shares in the information solutions company rose 2.3% to 1,087p.
Away from the index, Vedanta Resources (LON:VED) gained 6.3% to 579p on speculation it could be close to a deal with Cairn India Limited.
The company said it wants to stay on the London Stock Exchange, but admitted a deal with Cairn, which would be considered a reverse takeover if it were to happen, was not off the table.
Staying on the FTSE 250, Pets at Home (LON:PETS) was hit by the news Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is to sell 108mln shares in the company.
KKR, which owns 46.8% of the company, will sell 21.6% of the company’s shares, at an estimated value of £300mln. Shares eased 3% to 272p.
In small caps, Deltex Medical’s (LON:DEMG) blood flow monitoring system is to be recommended for all colorectal surgeries at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts after it delivered significant benefits for patients. Shares jumped more than 10% to 7.2p.
Meanwhile, Private and Commercial Finance (LON:PCF) said pre-tax profit rose 69% to £2.1mln last year from £1.25mln. Shares also leapt more than 10% to 18.2p.
On the downside, high-tech group Oxford Instruments (LON:OXIG) reported a tough year and said a slow start to 2015/16 had offset faster cost cuts. Shares dropped 6% to 999p.