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Important information: The value of investments can go down as well as up so you may get back less than you invest. Investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. This is a third-party news feed and may not reflect Fidelity’s views.

FTSE 100 movers: Mixed China data a drag on stocks

(Sharecast News) - FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,711.04 -0.28% A barrage of weak economic data may have soured sentiment on the first trading session of 2024, with manufacturing purchasing managers' indices (PMIs) from across the eurozone and UK confirming that the industrial downturn continued in December. Meanwhile, two closely watched surveys covering China's manufacturing sector showed conflicting results, with official government figures pointing to a continued contraction and a Caixin Global report indicating a pick-up in growth.

The private Caixin China manufacturing PMI expanded with a reading of 50.8, slightly up from November's 50.7. However, the official PMI from the National Bureau of Statistics painted a different picture, reporting a contraction with a reading of 49.0, down from November's 49.4. The official data was the third consecutive month of contraction in China's manufacturing, raising the possibility of increased policy support to stimulate the economy.

Leading the fallers on the FTSE 100 were stocks heavily exposed to China, such as insurance group Prudential and banking giant HSBC, along with miners Antofagasta, Anglo American and Fresnillo.

FTSE 100 - Risers

GSK (GSK) 1,477.80p 1.90% Vodafone Group (VOD) 69.71p 1.68% British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,331.50p 1.57% AstraZeneca (AZN) 10,756.00p 1.47% Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 276.30p 1.43% BT Group (BT.A) 125.00p 1.13% Weir Group (WEIR) 1,904.50p 0.95% Barclays (BARC) 155.22p 0.94% BP (BP.) 470.35p 0.90% Beazley (BEZ) 526.00p 0.77%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Diploma (DPLM) 3,430.00p -4.24% 3i Group (III) 2,333.00p -3.63% Prudential (PRU) 857.40p -3.36% St James's Place (STJ) 661.40p -3.25% Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 10,170.00p -3.19% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 160.75p -3.13% Fresnillo (FRES) 575.80p -3.13% Rightmove (RMV) 558.00p -3.06% Frasers Group (FRAS) 884.00p -2.91% Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 700.80p -2.86%

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Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

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