By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks dropped Monday, opening the
week with broad-based losses after downbeat data from Asia's
largest economies heightened worries about slowing global
growth.
Then as trading opened in London, European Central Bank
Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny reportedly said the eurozone
-- the U.K.'s largest trading partner -- is undergoing "massive
weakening" and the region is the weak spot in the world
economy.
The FTSE 100 fell 0.5% to 6,710.49, with only the health care
and technology groups moving higher.
Mining shares paced declines after a report showed imports into
China -- a major buyer of commodities -- unexpectedly fell in
November, sinking 6.7% versus expectations of 3% growth. Shares of
Anglo American PLC lost 1.1%, Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) fell 0.9% and
Glencore PLC (GLCNF) fell 0.8%.
"The decline in imports highlights further weakening domestic
demand as well as a slowing housing sector, as well as weakness in
commodity prices which in themselves reflect the weaker outlook for
the Chinese economy," wrote Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari
UK, in a Monday note.
The poor figures do leave the door wide open to further stimulus
measures from China's central bank, he said.
From Japan, the economy during the third quarter shrank more
than had initially estimated, contracting an annualized 1.9% from
the previous three-month period. The government last month
estimated contraction at a rate of 1.6%.
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