LONDON MARKETS: Unilever's Dive Offsets Jump For RBS, Leaving FTSE 100 Marooned

By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

U.K. index closes flat; Kraft withdrew Unilever bid over weekend

U.K. stocks finished roughly flat on Monday, with the main benchmark hamstrung by a big drop in Unilever PLC shares after Kraft Heinz Co. withdrew its bid for the company.

The FTSE 100 ended little changed at 7,299.86. The gauge last week gained 0.6%, putting it around a one-month high.

Shares in Unilever PLC (ULVR.LN) (ULVR.LN) (UNA.AE) closed down 6.6% for the FTSE's biggest loss after American rival Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) on Sunday dropped its $143 billion offer (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/kraft-heinz-withdraws-bid-for-unilever-2017-02-19) for the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS.LN) (RBS.LN) gained 6.8% following news the bank might not sell its Williams & Glyn business (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rbs-may-forgo-williams-glyn-sale-2017-02-20). RBS had agreed to the sale during the financial crisis, but it has proved troublesome. The bank's stock was the FTSE 100's largest gainer.

The British benchmark is up 2.2% so far this year. It's 23% higher over the past 12 months.

"It would appear we're still in a kind of trance at the moment whereby equity markets continue to shuffle higher in the hope that Donald Trump will deliver on his fiscal stimulus, tax and deregulation plans," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, in a note Monday.

Erlam said he sees no conviction in recent steps higher, and "we're nearing the point at which investors may start demanding something a little more concrete."

Trading was somewhat subdued Monday, as U.S. markets were closed for Presidents Day (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/which-markets-will-be-closed-on-presidents-day-2017-02-16).

(http://projects.marketwatch.com/2017/trump-today-signup/)

Other movers: Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (RR.LN) jumped 6.3% after Goldman Sachs analysts upgraded their rating for the engines maker to buy andput the stock on their "conviction" list.

In the FTSE 250 , Bovis Homes Group PLC (BVS.LN) closed down 10% after the builder warned (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bovis-shares-fall-profit-down-in-difficult-year-2017-02-20) it expects to construct 10% to 15% fewer homes in the U.K. this year. The midcap index finished 0.2% higher at 18,746.22.

The pound was trading at $1.2462, up from $1.2421 late Friday, as traders tracked debate in the House of Lords over the Brexit bill. The bill would keep the U.K. on course to leave the European Union, and the Lords are expected to offer amendments but not stop the triggering of Article 50, the formal start to talks on the withdrawal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 20, 2017 12:09 ET (17:09 GMT)

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