By Clare Hutchison, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) ? Britain?s benchmark stock index finished lower on Monday after talks between the French and German leaders failed to reassure investors about Europe?s economic future.
The FTSE 100 /quotes/zigman/3173262 UK:UKX -0.66% ?fell 0.7% to close at 5,612.3.
London?s equities index gained 0.5% on Friday, gaining for a third consecutive week on Friday, after better-than-expected U.S. payroll data lifted investor sentiment.
U.S. consumers having false hope?
U.S. households have seen income grow over the past 3 months, but that growth trend may not continue throughout 2012.
The index turned lower Monday after a meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Monday. The leaders said progress had been made on plans to forge a pact to tighten up budget rules across the region, but that failed to reassure investors that there is a credible plan to tackle the euro-zone sovereign debt crisis.
Shares in Britain?s major banks were punished on Monday. Lloyds Banking Group PLC /quotes/zigman/126322 UK:LLOY -3.39% ? /quotes/zigman/255656/quotes/nls/lyg LYG -2.45% ?slid 3.4% on the day Chief Executive Antonio Horta-Osorio returned to work after a medical leave.
Barclays PLC /quotes/zigman/301787 UK:BARC -4.45% ? /quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs BCS -2.88% ? /quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs BCS -2.88% ?fell 4.4% and Standard Chartered PLC /quotes/zigman/22532 UK:STAN -1.65% ?dropped 1.7%. HSBC Holdings PLC /quotes/zigman/13843 UK:HSBA -1.36% ?declined 1.4%.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC /quotes/zigman/155978 UK:RBS -2.15% ? /quotes/zigman/530544/quotes/nls/rbs RBS -0.79% ?slipped 2.1%. Analysts at J.P. Morgan Cazenove on Monday upgraded the shares to neutral from underweight. Any imminent announcements of restructuring at the RBS global banking and markets unit ?are likely to be the start of a significant multi-year period of restructuring of [investment-banking] operations for the U.K. banking industry,? analysts wrote in a note.
Pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline PLC /quotes/zigman/263563 UK:GSK -4.14% ?dropped 4.1%. The company on Monday issued an update on Relovair, which is used to treat pulmonary disease and asthma, saying it will submit regulatory applications for the drug in mid-2012.
Financial-services firms struggled for a second consecutive session, led down by Man Group PLC? /quotes/zigman/487128 UK:EMG -4.79% , which fell 4.8%. Schroders PLC /quotes/zigman/257601 UK:SDR -3.01% ?dropped 3%, while Hargreaves Lansdown PLC /quotes/zigman/461941 UK:HL -2.78% ?lost 2.8%.
Some resource stocks pulled back on Monday. Essar Energy PLC /quotes/zigman/594661 UK:ESSR -5.10% ?was the biggest decliner on the FTSE 100, shedding 5.1%. The company announced Monday that it had commissioned an expansion at its Vadinar refinery in India.
Oil giant BP PLC /quotes/zigman/210014 UK:BP -0.72% ? /quotes/zigman/247026/quotes/nls/bp BP -0.10% ?dipped 0.7%.
Mining firm Antofagasta PLC /quotes/zigman/139152 UK:ANTO -2.83% ?fell 2.9% after Deutsche Bank analysts cut their rating to hold from buy and Vedanta Resources PLC /quotes/zigman/336962 UK:VED -2.78% ?was down 2.8%.
Gas and electricity provider National Grid PLC /quotes/zigman/381306 UK:NG +2.38% ?topped the FTSE 100, climbing 2.4%.
Some retailers also posted gains on Monday. Burberry Group PLC /quotes/zigman/307688 UK:BRBY +2.24% ?advanced 2.3% and Kingfisher PLC /quotes/zigman/326748 UK:KGF +0.76% ?increased by 0.8%.
Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC /quotes/zigman/155311 UK:MRW +0.06% ?released its post-Christmas trading update on Monday, reporting a 0.7% growth in sales. The performance was in line with expectations and shares in the firm edged up 0.1%.
Technology and software company ARM Holdings PLC /quotes/zigman/254777 UK:ARM +0.57% ?gained 0.6%. Citigroup lifted its target price on the stock to ?7.00 ($10.81) from ?6.60 and said it expects the company to report strong results driven by solid revenues when it delivers its fourth- quarter results at the end of January. ARM stock finished at ?6.13 on Monday.
Outside the benchmark, pest control firm Rentokil Initial PLC /quotes/zigman/376558 UK:RTO +2.17% ?rose 2.2% after Credit Suisse raised its rating on the stock to outperform from neutral, citing the group?s cost-reduction efforts.
/quotes/zigman/3173262
Volume: 0.00
Jan. 9, 2012 4:35p
/quotes/zigman/126322 Volume: 149.18M
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/quotes/zigman/255656/quotes/nls/lyg Volume: 2.75M
Jan. 9, 2012 3:11p
/quotes/zigman/301787 Volume: 47.19M
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/quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs Volume: 3.34M
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/quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs Volume: 3.34M
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/quotes/zigman/22532 Volume: 3.13M
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/quotes/zigman/13843 Volume: 23.58M
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/quotes/zigman/155978 Volume: 86.94M
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/quotes/zigman/530544/quotes/nls/rbs Volume: 277,447
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/quotes/zigman/263563 Volume: 14.23M
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/quotes/zigman/487128 Volume: 15.86M
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/quotes/zigman/257601 Volume: 328,345
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/quotes/zigman/461941 Volume: 353,484
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/quotes/zigman/594661 Volume: 1.69M
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/quotes/zigman/210014 Volume: 27.27M
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/quotes/zigman/247026/quotes/nls/bp Volume: 2.79M
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/quotes/zigman/139152 Volume: 2.14M
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/quotes/zigman/336962 Volume: 1.07M
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/quotes/zigman/381306 Volume: 9.83M
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/quotes/zigman/307688 Volume: 1.85M
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/quotes/zigman/326748 Volume: 4.77M
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/quotes/zigman/155311 Volume: 9.24M
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/quotes/zigman/254777 Volume: 5.36M
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/quotes/zigman/376558 Volume: 5.28M
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Clare Hutchison is a MarketWatch reporter, based in London.
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