UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Emily Horton

Oil names, miners fall after weak China trade data

London markets fell on Monday, a day ahead of the crucial U.K. parliamentary vote over Prime Minister Theresa May's divisive agreement for Britain's exit from the European Union.

Weaker-than-expected Chinese trade data added to investor worries that China's economy is slowing, dragging on perceived risker asset such as stocks and oil.

How are markets trading?

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 0.9% to 6,859.21, after finishing up 1.2% on Friday.

The British pound was indecisive on Monday, as it struggled to make gains. The pound was trading at $1.2850 from $1.2830 seen late Friday in New York.

What is driving the markets?

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-trade-growth-slowed-in-2018-as-global-demand-weakened-2019-01-13)A vote looms for May's divisive agreement for Brexit Tuesday, and that has helped put U.K. markets on edge despite last week's gains.

May told MPs on Monday that she had gotten "valuable new clarifications and assurances" from the EU, and that the deal up for a vote was the only one on the table. On Sunday, she warned that rejecting her deal would be "catastrophic," though many expect that is exactly what will happen, as politicians on both sides of the Brexit debate continue to oppose its central tenets.

Weaker-than-expected Chinese trade data (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-trade-growth-slowed-in-2018-as-global-demand-weakened-2019-01-13) hit investor appetite for perceived riskier assets, such as stocks, and sparked fresh worries over a global economic slowdown on Monday. China's trade surplus with the U.S. also rose to $323.32 billion in 2018 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-trade-surplus-with-us-hit-record-in-2018-2019-01-13), the widest ever as the two nations are in talks to resolve trade disputes.

What stocks are active?

Britain's Burberry PLC (BRBY.LN) rose 0.5%, after Bank of America Merrill Lynch reportedly (https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/14/europe-markets-export-slump-in-china-rattles-global-stocks.html) raised its stock recommendation to neutral from underperform.

Online supermarket Ocado Group PLC (OCDO.LN) gained almost 1.2%. Meanwhile, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS.LN) and London Stock Exchange Group (LSE.LN) both gained around 2%.

Commodity-related shares were under pressure, with weak China data hitting oil prices and conversely shares of related companies, with heavily-weighed Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA.LN) (RDSA.LN) down 1% and BP PLC (BP.LN) (BP.LN) dropped 0.7%.

Mining shares fell, given their sensitivity to data that heightens worries about a slowdown in China, a big buyer of resources. Rio Tinto PLC (RIO.LN) (RIO.LN) eased 0.8%. Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) (GLEN.LN) dropped 1.2% and Antofagasta PLC (ANTO.LN) lost over 2%.

Paddy Power Betfair PLC topped the FTSE 100 fallers, losing just under 3%, while retailer Next PLC (NXT.LN) followed close behind, dropping just under 3%.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 14, 2019 09:45 ET (14:45 GMT)

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