New chairman sees Barclays top a flat FTSE

• Wall Street loses ground on weak Chinese data
• Markets fall as Germany braces for eurozone impact
• Flybe shares squeezed on profit warning
• Aviva gains as analysts bump up their target prices
• FTSE slips; Intertek scales the index
• Barclays shares given small boost by new chairman
• Chinese economic slowdown raises stimulus hopes

17.18: Britain’s markets close flat as weak Chinese data weigh on investor sentiment.

The FTSE 100 shed 0.08%, or five points, to 5,847 and the Mid-250 index inched up 0.06%, or six points, to 11,471.

It ends a week of sluggish trade for the index, as trading volumes have been low. The FTSE 100 added 60 points over the week and the Mid-250 index rose 170 points.

Barclays (BARC.L) took on 4.5p, or 2.5%, to 183p to rise to the top of the FTSE 100 as former Bank of England and Treasury official David Walker stepped in as the bank’s new chairman to replace Marcus Agius.

15.00: Stateside markets opened lower after investors were spooked by weaker-than-expected export and import figures from China.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 0.46% to 13,106 and the Nasdaq Composite index shed 0.31% to 3,009.

However, the cost of US imports fell in July for the fourth month in a row, down 0.6%, due to lower foreign oil prices and industrial supplies.

Sterling fell 0.35% against the dollar to $1.558 and the dollar index, which tracks the greenback’s performance against a basket of major currencies, added 0.21% to 82.8.

Brent crude for delivery in next month lost 1.1% to $111.97 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude for next month delivery fell 1.25% to $92.18.

Markets fall as Germany braces for eurozone impact

14.30: European markets have fallen further today as the German economy ministry warned against the impact of the eurozone crisis on the country’s economy.