Pick of the early market news

The London FTSE 100 ended Monday -19.58 points down at 5,915.55. Its biggest plunger by some margin was Essar Energy (down -14.60%) following disappointing profits; publisher Pearson also sank -3.76% to 1204p and HSBC slipped -3.72% to 553.50p. European stock markets were also broadly slightly down while overnight in Asia stocks swung back up on a slight rise in oil prices.