China's GDP data weighs on British miners

A set of data showing that inflation is cooling faster than expected in the US helped the UK market end last week on a higher note. The FTSE 100 was flat on Friday but rose 2.5% for the week.

But the start of the week isn't as rosy, with bad news coming from China. The blue-chip index was down 0.1% at 09.30 am today, hampered by mining stocks as metal process declined due to Chinese weak economic data, which showed the country’s GDP expanded at a slow pace in Q2. Annual growth came in at 6.3%, while 7.3% was expected. Global miners Glencore and Rio Tinto lost 2.7% and 1.9%, respectively.

Johnson Matthey is at the top of the FTSE 100 today, up 1% after Deutsche Bank rated the stock a “buy” with a new GBp 2500 target.

Meanwhile, Gresham House rocketed 55% after it received a buy offer from U.S. investment firm Searchlight Capital Partners for 469.8 million pounds.

Things to read today:

Does Xi Jinping need a plan B for China’s economy? (Financial Times)

JPMorgan Strategists Predict Further Euro-Area Stock Weakness (Bloomberg)