By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
U.K. stocks slipped Monday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 dented
by a decline in shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC after a ratings
downgrade.
The FTSE 100 turned 0.2% lower at 6,950.24, as consumer goods
and services, and energy shares moved into the red. The move added
to Friday's decline of 0.2%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-gains-as-sabmiller-rises-but-heads-for-weekly-loss-2015-05-15),
when British and European stocks dropped as poor U.S. data
underscored concerns about growth in the world's largest
economy.
Lloyds shares fell 1.3% as Investec cut its rating on the bank
to sell, from hold. Earlier in May, Lloyds shares became the
top-performing on the FTSE 100 after a two-week surge in the wake
of its first-quarter interim statement and the result of the May 7
U.K. general election, analyst Ian Gordon noted. Lloyd's
first-quarter performance was "robust" but broadly in line with
Investec's formerly above-consensus forecasts.
Among financials, banking firm Barclays PLC shares were off
0.1%, but Royal Bank of Scotland PLC was up 0.1%.
Earlier in the session, BHP Billiton (BHP) shares were down more
than 5%, but have managed to swing higher by 3.5%. They had been
under pressure after the overnight trading debut in Australia of
new company South32 Ltd. , which comprises BHP's non-core assets.
The shares opened at 2.13 Australian dollars ($1.71) each, which
was toward the lower end of market expectations, according to Dow
Jones Newswires, citing analysts.
But Fresnillo PLC shares have remained solidly higher throughout
the session, rising 3.6%. The precious metals miner said it's still
on track to boost its output this year
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fresnillo-reports-rise-in-silver-gold-output-2015-04-15)
following an increase in silver and gold output in the first
quarter.
Royal Mail PLC picked up 2.6% after Investec upgraded the
company's rating to buy from reduce. The move comes after PostNL
and private-equity firm LDC in April ended talks about expanding
delivery company Whistl in Britain. The suspension of Whistl's
service "represents a turning point in Royal Mail's investment
case," and Royal Mail "will now deliver all of Whistl's access
mail, returning around GBP10 million to revenues and a similar
amount to operating profit," wrote Investec.
Babcock International Group PLC shares rose 2.1% after the
engineering and defense services company raised its dividend by 10%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/babcock-lifts-dividend-10-as-yearly-profit-climbs-2015-05-18)
and as its full-year pretax profit rose 43% to 313.1 million pounds
($492.4 million). Revenue climbed 20% to GBP4 billion.
There are no key data releases scheduled for Monday.
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