Mining companies take the FTSE 100 lower
The FTSE 100 has turned negative, led by mining companies, including Anglo American which was four per cent down at 9:50, Fresnillo which was three per cent lower and Glencore which was trading 2.7 per cent down.
Chinese gross domestic product figures released today fed further into fears of a global slowdown, pushing mining companies share price down.
Read more: China's third quarter GDP beats expectations
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said that "while Chinese third quarter gross domestic product came in slightly above expectations, the stronger than expected number can’t disguise the fact that manufacturing in China continues to weaken." Hewson added:
The weaker than expected rise in industrial production in September of 5.7 per cent underscores the problem perfectly, missing expectations of six per cent.
This underperformance appears to be feeding through into weakness in the mining sector in early trade with Anglo American and Glencore leading the fallers, as they give up some of their recent rebound.
On Saturday Anglo American announced it was cutting between 120-140 jobs in Chile, including at its Los Bronces copper mine and offices in Chilean capital Santiago.
Read more: Anglo American lowers the bar for chief executive Mark Cutifani
In July the company said it would cut close to 6,000 of its 13,000 non-production rolls globally over the next few years.
Last week Glencore's share price fell after it confirmed asset sales in Chile and Australia to shrink its debt pile and weather the commodities rout.