Fears over the health of the Chinese economy put an end to five days of gains on London’s leading shares index today.
China’s exports rose 1% in July, sharply below forecasts of 5%, in a fresh sign that the Asian powerhouse economy is coming off the boil.
The FTSE 100 Index remained close to its four-month high as it closed just 4.4 points lower at 5,847.1, with resource stocks, heavily influenced by Chinese demand, weighing on the market.
Fallers included Evraz, which dropped 2.7p to 270.4p and Kazakhmys which fell 3p to 746p.
Asia-facing Standard Chartered was off 36.5p to 1,326.5p after a two-day rebound for the under-pressure bank following the allegations earlier this week that it covered up illegal dealings with Iran.
Barclays was the biggest riser in the top flight as investors welcomed the appointment of Sir David Walker to replace Marcus Agius as its new chairman. Shares rose 2% or 4.5p to 183.4p.
Insurers were ahead after Prudential reported a 13% rise in overall group operating profits to £1.2billion and highlighted more strong growth in its Asian division.
Its shares were 6p ahead at 810p, while Aviva rose 6.9p to 323.6p in the wake of its own half-year figures on Thursday.
The biggest Footsie risers included Icap up 6.3p at 337.2p and Weir Group ahead 20p at £17.30.
Among the biggest Footsie fallers were Bunzl down 54p at £11.13, Royal Bank of Scotland down 3.2p at 222.8p and ARM off 7p at 574p.
Stuart Lamont, of investment manager and financial planning specialist Brewin Dolphin in Aberdeen, noted Wolfson Microelectronics was up 4.7% to 213.75p and FirstGroup climbed 3.5% to 256.65p.
Laggards included EnQuest, down 1.8% to 117.1p, and Amec, which gave up 1.1% to close at £10.91.
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