London’s blue chips slumped near the close as miners took another beating on more disappointing China data.
The FTSE 100 Index closed about 11 points lower at 6,115, reversing gains of almost 70 points at lunchtime.
Small cap stocks though held their gains with the AIM 100 still 0.3% higher at 3,385 at the close.
Again it was the miners that bore the brunt of the Chinese unease with Anglo American (LON:AAl) shedding 14% to 5,595p, Glencore (LON:GLEN) 9% to 132.6p and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) 8% to 1,964.5p.
Easyjet (LON:EZJ), ahead of the airline’s results tomorrow, was the best of the blue chip risers, up 4% to 1,470p, alongside pharma giant AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) which rose to 1,470p.
Elsewhere, bid speculation swirled around Imagination Technologies Group PLC (LON:IMG) amid talk that a Chinese tech fund may bid for it – potentially sparking a takeover tussle.
The stock rose 11%, to 168p on news that Tsinghua Unigroup International Co. Ltd had bought a 3% stake in the firm.
State-backed Tsinghua has spent more than US$9.4bn in the last couple of years on acquisitions and investments in a bid to make itself the world's third largest chipmaker, according to analysts.
Tsinghua, worth US$30bn, has already acquired Spreadtrum Communications, Inc, RDA and HP's networking business, the analysts said.
It tried to buy US giant Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) for US$23bn last August but reportedly was rejected on national security grounds.
The interest follows speculation that Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) was interested in buying Imagination.
The iPhone maker said in March that it had had talks with the graphics chip developer, but had decided not to make an offer at that time.
Analysts at Liberum Capital say the Chinese interest could shake Apple into action as the US group may not welcome a Chinese rival.
They said in a note: “We don't know whether Tsinghua is looking to stay as a minority shareholder or to acquire the business outright.
“Tsinghua's stake could ignite a sale process as we believe Apple is unlikely to want Imagination's technology to go to China.”
Strategic Minerals PLC (LON:SML) plans for its nickel-sulphide-copper Hanns Camp scheme in Western Australia have been driving the share price recently.
They were up nearly 40% again on Monday, to 0.46p.
They increased nearly 39% before and after news on April 21 that the group had applied for a work permit for Hanns Camp.
Then the stock rose another 39.6% between May 4 and May 5 before the company said on Friday that authorities had granted the permit and initial drilling plans were complete.
Elsewhere, Botswana Diamonds (LON:BOD) sparkled 19% to 2.29p as it said a drilling programme would start soon on its PL186 licence on the Maibwe block in the southern African country.
Iodine producer Iofina (LON:IOF) unveiled record iodine production, making it the second largest producer of iodine in North America. Shares extended early gains to stand nearly 25% higher at 17.12p.
But Opera Investments (LON:OPRA) retreated more than a quarter to 7.2p after saying it had terminated an agreement to buy SoloPower Systems Holdings, Inc.