By Preeti Upadhyaya, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — The main U.K. stock index traded lower on Friday as mining stocks declined following disappointing trade data from China, and oil stocks also took a hit from tumbling futures prices.
The FTSE 100 UK:UKX -0.18% was off 0.4% at 5,831.26.
China’s trade surplus shrank unexpectedly in July as exports and imports came in under expectations, according to data released Friday. See: China July trade surplus unexpectedly shrinks
Among miners, Kazakhmys PLC UK:KAZ -0.47% dropped 1.3% and Vedanta Resources PLC UK:VED -0.56% fell 1.1%. Rio Tinto PLC UK:RIO -0.40% RIO -1.13% slipped 0.7%.
Metal prices were mostly lower.
Miners tend to move on any Chinese data, said Richard Perry, chief markets strategist at Central Markets, a London-based boutique investment bank. The country is a big user of natural resources.
He added, however, that after five days of gains, the U.K. index could be down simply as investors take profits ahead of the weekend and the market “takes a breather.”
The International Energy Agency cut its oil demand outlook on Friday on ongoing worries over the global economy. See: IEA trims 2013 demand growth forecast
Royal Dutch Shell PLC UK:RDSB -0.79% RDS.B -0.88% was off 1% and BP PLC UK:BP -0.10% BP -0.86% shed 0.5%, as oil prices fell across the board.
Banking major Barclays PLC UK:BARC +2.63% BCS +1.52% rose 2.7%. The bank said late Thursday that David Walker will become its next chairman as of Nov. 1. See: David Walker to become chairman of Barclays PLC
HSBC Holdings PLC UK:HSBA +0.41% HBC -0.16% climbed 0.5%.
Wholesale distributor Bunzl PLC UK:BNZL -4.97% slumped 3.5% after UBS downgraded the firm to sell from neutral.
Moving in the opposite direction, insurance firm Aviva PLC edged up 1.5%, while Intertek Group PLC UK:ITRK +0.29% climbed 0.5%.
Compass Group PLC UK:CPG 0.00% was up 0.3%.
Preeti Upadhyaya is a MarketWatch reporter, based in London.
