LONDON MARKETS: Standard Life Gains, Kingfisher Falls On FTSE 100; Pound Lower

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

U.K. retail sales pullback in January

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks hugged the flatline Friday, but Standard Life PLC shares outperformed after the investment manager released its financial results.

Meanwhile, the pound lost ground against the U.S. dollar after monthly U.K. retail sales fell by more than analysts had expected.

Sterling: The British currency (GBPUSD) slipped to $1.5358 from $1.5366 after U.K. sales fell 0.3% in January, more than the 0.2% decline forecast in a FactSet poll of analysts. The pound was buying $1.5416 late Wednesday.

The Office for National Statistics noted "a significant increase in the quantity bought in petrol stations and department stores, but this did not negate the downwards pressure from predominantly food stores, textile, clothing and footwear and other stores."

The euro (EURGBP), meanwhile, stepped higher against sterling, buying 73.71 pence versus 73.63 pence ahead of the data. The shared currency earlier Friday had hovered around a seven-year low against the pound.

Stocks: The FTSE 100 was up 1 point at 6,890.78, with gains for industrial , financial and mining shares barely edging out losses for retail and consumer-goods stocks.

But Standard Life was higher by 3.2% after the financial-services company said assets under management last year increased 38% to about 300 billion pounds (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/standard-life-assets-under-management-rises-38-2015-02-20) ($460 billion), aided by rising financial markets and its acquisition of Ignis Asset Management. Pretax profit rose 19% to GBP604 million.

At the bottom of the benchmark was Kingfisher PLC , the home-improvement retailer whose brands include B&Q and Screwfix. Its shares fell 2.5% following a downgrade to an underweight rating, from equalweight, at Barclays. "We do not share the bulls' optimism about a QE-led French housing-market improvement," wrote analyst Christodoulos Chaviaras. "At the same time, in the U.K., competitive pressure intensifies as B&Q remains overspaced with an inflexible cost structure."

The FTSE 100 was on track for a weekly gain of 0.3%.

Investors will also keep watch on developments out of Brussels, where eurozone finance ministers were expected to discuss Greece's request of a loan extension (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/positive-climate-as-greeces-tsipras-speaks-with-german-chancellor-merkel-2015-02-19). Germany on Thursday rejected the Greek government's proposal.

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires