LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Wavers After Best Week In More Than A Year

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

U.K.'s blue-chip stocks were looking for firm direction Monday after last week's notably strong performance, with losses for consumer-goods heavyweight Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC among the names pressuring the London market's benchmark.

How markets are moving

The FTSE 100 was darting between small gains and losses. It opened 0.1% higher, turned lower then rose again, by 0.1% to 7,303.09. Consumer-goods shares led declining sectors, while financial stocks fared the best. The index last week last week it gained 2.9% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-rises-on-track-to-break-weekly-losing-streak-2018-02-16), the strongest week since December 2016, FactSet data showed.

"Caught between continuing Chinese New Year celebrations in the east and President's Day in the west, European markets are likely to be very quiet today, although early sentiment remains relatively positive as the global rebound continues," said Rebecca O'Keeffe, head of investment at Interactive Investor, in a Monday note.

The pound traded at $1.4015, down from $1.4033 late Friday in New York.

The yield on the 10-year gilt rose 2 basis points to 1.59%, according to Tradeweb. Yields rise when prices fall.

Check out: More investors looking to cut U.K. assets as Brexit uncertainty persists (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/more-investors-looking-to-cut-uk-assets-as-brexit-uncertainty-persists-2018-02-16)

What's moving markets

The U.K. market wobbled after rising three consecutive sessions last week, taking part in a global rebound for equities, which stemmed largely from Wall Street's meltdown earlier this month that yanked the S&P 500 and other major benchmarks from record highs.

But on Friday, Wall Street's rally (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-ready-to-hold-above-25000-as-us-stocks-line-up-best-week-more-than-a-year-2018-02-16) "showed signs of running out of steam" as indexes finished well below session highs," said Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group, in a Monday note.

Stock movers

Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.LN) dropped 3.2% as the maker of Lysol, Clearasil and other consumer-goods products posted flat like-for-like 2017 sales (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/reckitt-benckiser-2017-profit-rises-on-weak-pound-2018-02-19), although that was line with guidance that was revised downward over the course of the year.

Mining stocks were lower after the U.S. government late Friday said it's considering tariffs to curb imports of steel and aluminum (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-administration-weighs-tariffs-to-curb-steel-aluminum-imports-2018-02-16) to protect national security. Among decliners, Fresnillo PLC (FRES.LN) was off 1.3% and iron ore miner Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) shed 0.2%.

Advancers were topped by easyJet PLC (EZJ.LN) and International Consolidated Airlines PLC (IAG.LN) , each up 1%.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 19, 2018 04:14 ET (09:14 GMT)

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