Perry Gourley: Gloomy data from China prompts dip

SHARES in Barclays reacted positively to news that it had agreed a sum of $325 million (£210m) to resolve two civil lawsuits relating to the purchase of US residential mortgage-backed securities.
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SHARES in Barclays reacted positively to news that it had agreed a sum of $325 million (£210m) to resolve two civil lawsuits relating to the purchase of US residential mortgage-backed securities. The banking giant reached the settlement with the National Credit Union Association (NCUA), the independent agency that regulates federal credit unions. Shares rose by 3.85p to close at 254.6p on the news.

But the wider FTSE 100 Index fell 25.71 points to 6,352.33, hit by disappointing economic news from China.

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China’s economy in Q3 slumped to a six-year low, while the factory output in the world’s second largest economy in September was below forecasts. Recent slides in the gold price saw precious metal miners among the biggest fallers with Randgold Resources down 85p at 4,487p and silver miner Fresnillo 25p lower to 734.5p. Commodity firms were also shaken, Royal Dutch Shell down 35p to 1,799.5p, Anglo American 49.8p lower at 625.5p and BHP Billiton off 33.5p at 1,096p.

Primark owner Associated British Foods saw its shares fall 24p to 3,284p, after a note from Berenberg downgraded the stock to “hold” from “buy”.

The broker said the strong pound would impact on margins at Primark, which is in the middle of a US expansion.

NEW YORK: Wall Street closed narrowly ahead last night. The Dow Jones in dustrial average rose 14.57 points, or 0.08 per cent, to finish on 17,230.54 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index inched ahead 0.55 points, or just 0.03 per cent, to end the day on 2,033.66. The Nasdaq composite index was up 18.78 points, or 0.38 per cent, to close at 4,905.47.

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