* FTSE 100 down 0.9 pct
* FTSE 250 down 0.6 pct
* Ocado gains after report of talks with M&S
* Oil majors lose big (Adds company news items, updates to closing prices, changesanalyst quote)By Muvija M and Shashwat AwasthiJan 28 (Reuters) - London's main bourse ended Monday'ssession at its lowest in nearly a month as yet more downbeatdata from China and U.S. bellwether Caterpillar's weak forecastunnerved investors, while Ocado outshone after a report of adeal with Marks & Spencer.The FTSE 100 index slid 0.9 percent to a low notseen since Jan. 4, while the more domestically focussed FTSE 250 shed 0.6 percent.
BP and Shell tumbled 2.4 percent and 1.7percent respectively as oil prices slumped on evidence of moregrowth in U.S. crude supply. Overnight, Asian shares had rallied after Washingtontemporarily ended the longest U.S. government shutdown inhistory. But data from China showed earnings at its industrialcompanies shrank again in December. That rekindled tensions among investors already rattled byrepeated signs of a slowdown in China amid its ongoing tradedispute with the United States. In response, British stocks with more exposure to Asia fell- HSBC dipped 1.1 percent and luxury goods makerBurberry lost 1.5 percent.Dampening the mood further were bleak earnings reports fromWall Street and comments from European Central Bank PresidentMario Draghi that the euro zone economy has performed worse thanexpected in recent months. "Fears about a 2019 recession appear overblown. We seeglobal growth slowing, not enough to end the expansion butenough to keep major central banks on hold," wrote BlackRockanalysts ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's first policymeeting in 2019 scheduled this week.U.S. stocks dived as weak forecasts from Caterpillar , the world's largest heavy equipment maker, andchipmaker Nvidia accelerated worries about a slowdownin China taking a bigger bite off corporate profits.
All the sectors in the FTSE 100 ended negative.Investors were also bracing for votes in parliament onTuesday aimed at breaking a Brexit deadlock.
With just two months before Britain is due to leave theEuropean Union, there are still no signs of an agreement onterms that would get through parliament.Tesco hit session lows after Britain's biggestretailer said it could axe 9,000 jobs in its UK stores and headoffice to simplify operations and achieve targeted cost savings.The stock closed 1.7 percent lower on the day. Among a handful of gainers was Ocado, which rallied as muchas 7 percent during the day but ended with a 2.1 percent gainafter the Guardian reported the online grocer has held talkswith Marks & Spencer on a food-delivery service.M&S also handed back earlier gains to rise just 0.1 percent.Mining companies inched up 0.2 percent afterhitting their highest since November as Chinese iron ore pricesjumped after a deadly incident at top producer Vale over theweekend.Flybe jumped 15.2 percent after confirming itslargest shareholder had urged the airline to remove its chairmanand investigate its cut-price sale to a consortium. In news driven moves, Petra Diamonds tanked over 20percent as lower diamond prices at its flagship Cullinan mineovershadowed an increase in revenue, while recruiter SThree eked out a 1.1 percent gain after reporting a jump inearnings.<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Ocado outshines FTSE 100 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Muvija M and Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru;editing by Josephine Mason, Larry King and Andrew Cawthorne)
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