LONDON, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- FTSE 100 Index, the British benchmark stock market gauge, Tuesday fell by 0.79 percent, or 50.65 points, to 6,366.51 points, as economic data disappointed the market.
British services sector purchasing managers' index (PMI), a gauge measuring the industry activity, dropped significantly to 55.8 in December 2014 from 58.6 in November 2014, recording its lowest reading for 19 months, said Markit Economics Limited Tuesday.
Data also showed that the final reading of the Eurozone composite PMI in December was revised down from the fresh estimate of 51.7 to 51.4. Meanwhile, the U.S. ISM non-manufacturing PMI fell from 59.3 in November to 56.2 in December, missing the forecast of 58.
On the same day, figures released by Halifax, a Britain-based mortgage provider, showed that the total number of first-time home buyers in 2014 rose to its highest level since 2007.
Ashtead Group led the top losers of the blue chips with a share price drop of 6.18 percent, followed by ARM Holdings (4.41 percent), Kingfisher (3.44 percent), Sports Direct International (3.01 percent) and Hargreaves Lansdown (2.79 percent).
While Randgold Resources's share price increased by 4.87 percent, topped the gainers of the blue chips. Fresnillo, Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Shire increased by 2.86 percent, 2.53 percent, 2.12 percent and 1.23 percent respectively.
Trading in FTSE 100 companies today was around 44 percent above the 30-day average. The index has lost 3.03 percent so far this year in U.S. dollar term.