LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Under Pressure As Global-slowing Worries Ramp Up

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks dropped Monday, opening the week with broad-based losses after downbeat data from Asia's largest economies heightened worries about slowing global growth.

Then as trading opened in London, European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny reportedly said the eurozone -- the U.K.'s largest trading partner -- is undergoing "massive weakening" and the region is the weak spot in the world economy.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.5% to 6,710.49, with only the health care and technology groups moving higher.

Mining shares paced declines after a report showed imports into China -- a major buyer of commodities -- unexpectedly fell in November, sinking 6.7% versus expectations of 3% growth. Shares of Anglo American PLC lost 1.1%, Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) fell 0.9% and Glencore PLC (GLCNF) fell 0.8%.

"The decline in imports highlights further weakening domestic demand as well as a slowing housing sector, as well as weakness in commodity prices which in themselves reflect the weaker outlook for the Chinese economy," wrote Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari UK, in a Monday note.

The poor figures do leave the door wide open to further stimulus measures from China's central bank, he said.

From Japan, the economy during the third quarter shrank more than had initially estimated, contracting an annualized 1.9% from the previous three-month period. The government last month estimated contraction at a rate of 1.6%.

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