By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- Fears over Chinese growth drove losses
for luxury-goods retailer Burberry PLC, and resource stocks such as
BP PLC kept London markets from making any headway Monday.
The FTSE 100 index fell 0.6% to 5,626.01, with investors
continuing to worry over global growth prospects from China and
elsewhere.
Data from China on Monday showed inflation eased sharply in June
as food costs cooled and industrial demand eased off. Analysts are
concerned, though, about deepening deflation and other stress on
the economy. Resource stocks are sensitive to economic news from
China, which is a big user of natural resources.
Heavyweight BP (BP) fell 1.6% and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA)
lost 1.7%. Tullow Oil PLC declined 2.4%.
Mining stocks were also pushing lower, with Anglo American PLC
stumbling 2.5% and Xstrata PLC fell 2%.
Mining stocks will also be looking to the U.S. earnings-season
kickoff after the close of Wall Street trading Monday, with
aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. (AA) due to report.
Luxury-goods retailer Burberry PLC fell 2.3%, in step with
losses for other companies in the sector across Europe. China is
also an important market for high-end goods. But investors were
looking at an interview with the vice president of Hengdeli
Holdings Ltd. , Tan Li, who told Bloomberg News that sales of
luxury watches had slowed to "single digits in recent months."
Hengdeli is the retail partner of Swatch Group AG , which fell
2.7%.
Away from the main index, shares of Michael Page International
PLC stumbled 4.3% after the recruiter cited difficult market
conditions in an update and flat head count.