By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Mining firms led U.K. stocks lower on
Monday after the sector was hurt by disappointing export data from
China, while Vodafone Group PLC declined amid speculation it has
raised its offer for Spanish cable group Ono.
The FTSE 100 index dropped 0.4% to 6,689.45, after closing out
last week with a 1.4% loss.
Miners posted some of the biggest losses in London after weak
Chinese trade data hit the sector. Numbers out over the weekend
showed exports unexpectedly fell 18.1% in February from a year
earlier, a deterioration after January's 10.6% rise and worse than
the 5% expansion forecast by economists. Chinese exports are seen
as a gauge of global demand, and the weak data for February
signaled a wider slowdown in the appetite for goods.
Miners tend to be sensitive to growth data from China, as the
country is a major user of natural resources. Shares of Antofagasta
PLC dropped 2.1%, Glencore Xstrata PLC (GLCNF) gave up 2.4%, BHP
Billiton PLC (BHP) fell 1.4%, and Anglo American PLC shed 2%.
Metals prices were also mostly lower.
Heavyweight Vodafone (VOD) lost 3.6% after Reuters late Friday
reported that the telecom firm has reached a preliminary deal to
buy Spanish cable group Ono after raising its initial offer. In
February, Ono rejected an earlier bid from Vodafone and decided to
continue with a planned initial public offering that would value
the company at 7 billion euros ($9.7 billion), including debt. A
representative from Vodafone wasn't immediately available to
comment.
On a more upbeat note, Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC shares picked up
1.7% after Daimler AG said on Friday it will sell its 50% stake in
Rolls-Royce Power Systems Holding joint venture to the U.K.
aerospace and defense firm.
Shares of GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) advanced 1.2% after the drug
maker said it has increased its stake in its Indian pharma
subsidiary to 75% from 50.7%.
Oil firms also pushed higher, with BP PLC (BP) up 0.8% and Royal
Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) rising 0.9%.
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