LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Eases From Record High, But Unilever, SABMiller Gain Ground

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

U.K. stocks fell Thursday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 backing away from a record high, but Dove soap maker Unilever PLC and brewer SABMiller PLC advanced after releasing financial updates.

   The FTSE 100   fell 0.3% to 7,076.61, slipping from Wednesday's closing high at 7,096.78. 

Moving in the red was Diageo , with shares down 3.1% after the Smirnoff vodka and Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky maker said organic net sales fell 0.3% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/diageo-9-month-organic-sales-fall-2015-04-16) in the nine months ended March 31.

But Unilever PLC shares climbed to the top of the benchmark, gaining 4%. Sales at the consumer-products heavyweight jumped 12% in the first quarter (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/unilever-sales-lifted-by-favorable-forex-movements-2015-04-16). Underlying sales grew 2.8%.

"Despite high levels of currency and commodity volatility, we are now starting to see more tailwinds than headwinds in our markets, and expect our initiatives to deliver a further improvement in volume growth in the remainder of the year," said Unilever's Chief Executive Paul Polman in a statement.

SABMiller rose 1.8%, after the brewer posted organic growth in revenue of 6% in the fourth quarter. But the maker of Fosters, Miller and Peroni said depreciation of key currencies against the dollar (GBPUSD) also dented its results.

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