The FTSE 100 in London was trading down 0.3 per cent at 6,675 in early deals.

The preliminary HSBC purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for Chinese manufacturing released overnight showed that the sector failed to grow this month. The PMI fell to the break-even point of 50 in November, a six-month low, down from 50.4 the previous month and below the 50.2 that analysts were expecting.

Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, said that the figures “add[ed] to signs that more stimulus is needed to offset slowing growth in the world’s #2 economy”. He added: “There is talk of China boosting banks’ lending power to help spur growth, with more flexible loan-to-deposit ratios.”

Closer to home, PMIs from both France and Germany disappointed, with French manufacturing contracting further and German manufacturing coming to a standstill. The French manufacturing PMI fell from 48.5 to 47.6, while the German manufacturing PMI declined from 51.4 to 50.

The weak start in London also followed a negative finish for stocks on Wall Street on Wednesday night after minutes of last month’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting revealed that members had debated about whether or not to change its forward guidance on interest rates.

In the end, the FOMC maintained its stance to keep rates low “for a considerable time”, but the minutes showed that policymakers were divided over the timing and trajectory of the first rate hike.

“The key take-aways from the Fed minutes were that despite low inflation and a weak global economy, the focus is still on domestic strength and the timing/scale of potential rate hikes,” said analysts at Rabobank.

Centrica falls, Johnson Matthey jumps

British Gas and Direct Energy owner Centrica was out of favour after warning that its full-year and 2015 earnings will be lower than previously guided due to “a number of challenges” including low oil and gas prices, cold weather in the US, warm weather in the UK and boiler inspections at its power stations.

Although first-half revenue dropped by a quarter at Johnson Matthey, shares in the chemical and sustainable technologies group gained after profits improved and the company lifted its full-year guidance slightly.

The Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England have fined Royal Bank of Scotland £56m for the computer failures that hit more than over 6.5m UK customers for several weeks in 2012. RBS shares were under pressure early on.

Mining peers Fresnillo, BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Rio Tinto were firmly lower after the weak data from top metals consumer China.

A number of heavyweight stocks were also trading in the red after going ex-dividend, including Vodafone, J Sainsbury and National Grid.

Market Movers
techMARK 2,865.57 -0.21%
FTSE 100 6,674.90 -0.32%
FTSE 250 15,554.24 -0.31%

FTSE 100 – Risers
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,284.00p +4.19%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,150.00p +2.86%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,163.00p +1.39%
Wolseley (WOS) 3,498.00p +1.10%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 285.40p +0.74%
3i Group (III) 423.20p +0.59%
Meggitt (MGGT) 482.40p +0.58%
BG Group (BG.) 1,033.50p +0.58%
Capita (CPI) 1,060.00p +0.57%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 889.00p +0.57%

FTSE 100 – Fallers
Fresnillo (FRES) 716.00p -2.05%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,883.00p -2.01%
National Grid (NG.) 942.00p -1.93%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,298.50p -1.85%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,595.50p -1.82%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 643.00p -1.61%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,411.00p -1.47%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 259.00p -1.37%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,284.00p -1.29%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 439.40p -1.21%