By William L. Watts, MarketWatch
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- The U.K.'s top share index pulled
back from a five-year high Friday, falling prey to profit-taking as
U.S. consumer confidence slipped and European Union leaders met for
a second day in Brussels.
The FTSE 100 stock index fell 0.6% to close at 6,489.65, but
posted at 0.1% gain for the week. The index closed at a five-year
high Thursday.
"The FTSE has spent a considerable amount of time above the
6,500 mark this week, so it comes as no surprise that we've seen a
bit of selling," said David Madden, market analyst at IG in
London.
"Investors were not enticed to go long today with fears of a
Cypriot bailout circulating; the island's financial woes have been
common knowledge for some time, but today's EU summit in Brussels
brought them to center stage," he said in a note.
Euro-zone finance ministers were set to discuss a Cyprus bailout
late Friday following a two-day meeting of European Union leaders.
Talks were expected to prove thorny.
U.S. stocks traded lower on Wall Street, threatening to end a
winning streak by the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) that's
lasted 10 days.
Analysts at Credit Suisse on Friday said they were maintaining a
4% overweight recommendation on equities. But they raised their
year-end S&P 500 target to 1,550 to 1,640 and lifted their FTSE
100 target from 6,600 to 7,000.
Shares of Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment dropped 4.4%, with
analysts noting the company's revised 2013 outlook.
Shares of pest-control company Rentokil Initial PLC jumped more
than 9% after announcing 2.8% sales growth in 2012 and above-target
cost savings.
Shares of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA)(RDSB) dropped 1.8%. Analysts
at J.P. Morgan downgraded the oil giant's shares to underweight
from neutral, citing concerns about growth, potential capital
requirements, and the implications for near-term cash returns.
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