London’s FTSE 100 index was just 0.1% higher at 6,275 within the opening hour, with shares of ARM Holdings and GKN rising strongly and Reckitt Benckiser, Intercontinental and Whitbread in the red.

Markets were also digested an influx of economic data from China where gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed down in the most recent quarter.

The annual growth of Chinese GDP was 7.3% in the third quarter, down from 7.5% in the second quarter. While this was just ahead of the 7.2% expansion expected by the market, analysts at Deutsche Bank pointed out that this was “still the lowest read seen since early 2009”.

Meanwhile, Chinese annual industrial production growth picked up more than expected to 8% in September from 6.9% in August, but the increase in retail sales and fixed-asset investment eased more than predicted to 11.6% and 16.1% respectively.

Market analyst Michael Hewson from CMC Markets UK said that the soft retail sales data in particular “reinforc[ed] concerns that the Chinese economy remains quite a long way away from rebalancing towards domestic consumption”.

Corporate earnings come in mixed

Microprocessor group ARM Holdings reported third-quarter revenues just short of the consensus forecast but shares rose after the group said it remains on track to hit full-year forecasts. Dollar revenues were up 12% in the third quarter.

Aerospace and automotive engineer GKN was also in demand after delivering higher third-quarter profit. However, the group also predicted lower growth for the rest of the year, particularly in automotive markets, and said the strong pound would hit results.

Heading the other way was consumer-goods giant Reckitt Benckiser which missed analysts’ estimates slightly in its third quarter on the back of continuing currency headwinds and “tougher markets”.

Continuing strong momentum in the US market helped Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza owner Intercontinental Hotels Group deliver a pick-up in revenue per available room growth in the third quarter, but that didn’t stop shares from falling early on.

Whitbread was also out of favour after the leisure group, which owns the Costa and Premier Inn chains, underwhelmed with its half-year results despite underlying profits rising 18.5% as the company flagged tough comparatives in the second half.

High street bookie William Hill gained after saying its bottom line should come in at the top-end of analysts’ forecasts this year after third-quarter profit growth of 89%, boosted by “favourable sporting results” and good growth overseas. Sector peers Ladbrokes was also higher.

Aerospace and defence giant Meggitt edged higher after landing a multi-million dollar contract to supply an advanced wheel and braking system for Gulfstream Aerospace’s new G500 and G600 business jets.

Annual profits were not quite as bad as feared as online fashion retailer Asos put a troublesome year to bed, although significant investment in international pricing is likely to hold profits back for the next two years. The stock surged in early deals, trimming some of the losses made earlier in the year.

Market Movers

techMARK 2,618.29 +0.24%
FTSE 100 6,275.03 +0.13%
FTSE 250 14,849.95 +0.64%

FTSE 100 – Risers

Shire Plc (SHP) 3,836.00p +2.29%
GKN (GKN) 308.20p +2.05%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,458.00p +1.89%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 367.50p +1.69%
TUI Travel (TT.) 355.10p +1.69%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,270.00p +1.67%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,380.00p +1.62%
Standard Life (SL.) 384.10p +1.40%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 923.00p +1.15%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 947.00p +1.12%

FTSE 100 – Fallers

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,189.00p -2.67%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 5,000.00p -2.25%
Whitbread (WTB) 4,162.00p -1.56%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,351.00p -0.99%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,329.00p -0.75%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,069.00p -0.65%
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,531.00p -0.63%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,419.00p -0.49%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 677.50p -0.44%
National Grid (NG.) 869.00p -0.40%