LONDON MARKETS: China Slowdown, Brexit Grind Pulls U.K. Stock Markets Lower

By Emily Horton

Sterling losses stem slide for FTSE 100

London markets were red on Friday, as slow Chinese business activity in November rebooted refreshed worries over global economic growth.

Meanwhile, Brexit uncertainty continues to hang in the air amid a lack of signals U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May will win concessions from Brussels her government wants.

How are the markets performing?

The FTSE 100 fell by 0.7% to 6,828.46, after barely moving on Thursday. The index is looking at a weekly gain of 0.8%.

The British pound slid to $1.2555, compared with $1.2655 late Thursday in New York.

What is driving markets?

Trade stress appeared to be takin a toll on China, as industrial production and retail sales data (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-under-pressure-after-weak-china-data-2018-12-14)indicated renewed weakness, official data revealed. November figures missed the 5.9% forecast estimated by economists, with value-added industrial output up by 5.4% in November from a year earlier, slowing down from a 5.9% on-year increase in October, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May was under pressure again in Brussels as she attempted to bid for a new Brexit concession from her European Union counterparts. However, there were no signs she had successfully managed to sway the leaders at the summit in Belgium (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-parliament-must-wait-till-2019-to-vote-on-brexit-deal-theresa-mat-struck-with-eu-2018-12-13). May was expected to speak

What stocks are active?

Heavy-weight mining stocks dropped, with Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) down by almost 3% and Rio Tinto (RIO.LN) falling 2%.

Betting Group GVC Holdings (GVC.LN) was the biggest gainer in London, jumping 13% on the news that it had acquired Australian digital sports betting group Neds International. Paddy Power Betfair PLC gained 2.5%.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 14, 2018 08:52 ET (13:52 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.