Clarkson up on upbeat annual profit
Flutter, Aston Martin gains on PT raise
FTSE 100 down 0.2, FTSE 250 flat

March 6 Reuters UK39;s bluechip FTSE 100 inched lower on Monday as miners slumped, following top metals consumer China39;s decision to set a modest growth target for the year, offsetting a strong performance by Irelandbased gaming company Flutter.

The exportoriented FTSE 100 fell 0.2 and the more domesticallyfocussed FTSE 250 was flat by 925 GMT.

The FTSE 350 industrial metals miners slid 2.4.

Copper prices were in the red as top consumer China set a lowerthanexpected gross domestic product target of 5. Policy sources had recently told Reuters a range as high as 6 could be set.

We39;ve got a little bit of caution and we saw commodities a little bit lower because of that modest growth expectation from China which is impacting the general market mood at the start of the day, said Giles Coghlan, chief market analyst at HYCM.

In the previous week, both the largecap and the midcap FTSE indexes had a strong run, as appetite for risk grew after data showed resilience in the domestic economy amid hopes that the Bank of England might come to the end of its monetary tightening cycle.

Meanwhile, U.S. bank Citi published a monthly survey by YouGov that showed the British public39;s expectations for annual inflation rose to 5.6 in February from 5.4 in January, and expectations for the long term also rose.

Flutter Entertainment Plc rose 2.4 and Aston Martin Lagonda…