FTSE 100 heads north on China data

On Monday, London markets managed to gain due to the fact that traders weighed up the latest China surge data and also waited for UK Prime Minister Theresa May to outline her fresh Brexit proposal to the country’s parliament.

The FTSE 100 Index stood still, sticking with 6,967.40 having concluded the trading session up 0.7% for the week.

The currency pair GBP/USD was nearly intact showing $1.2873.

In the United Kingdom, the country’s Prime Minister Theresa May is anticipated to try to resolve the political long-lasting issue over the Brexit by simply outlining proposals in the country’s legislative body on Monday, which are supposed to focus on getting more concessions from the EU. However, considering the rejection of May’s deal as well as the lack of clarity over the options available to the British cabinet, it feels like the UK’s departure from the EU is going to be postponed beyond March 29.

As some sources familiar with the matter ascertain, her loss the previous week has driven tensions among London’s key banks.

On Monday, Chinese statesmen revealed that the Chinese economy managed to expand by 6.6% for the last year in contrast with 6.9% recorded in 2017, which is the slowest annual tempo the Asian country has recorded since 1990. The trade clash with America is contributing to this despair, with the uncertainty over a trade truce affecting investment in Chinese exporters.

In addition to this, Kingfisher PLC KGF, the home improvement retailer led the FTSE 100 divers, losing 4%.

William Hill PLC WMH headed south by about 3.3% right after it warned over operating revenue for the previous year. However, the given projection happens to be in line with previous guidance.

Healthcare chain NMC Health NMC tacked on by up to 2%.