LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Breaks 3-day Winning Streak; Miners Fall

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index declined on Tuesday as investors paused after a three-day rally, with resource firms and banks leading the move south.

The FTSE 100 index lost 0.4% to close at 6,698.01, almost erasing a 0.5% gain from Monday.

Shares of Intertek Group PLC gave up 2.5% after the product-testing and certification company said it will buy Architectural Testing Inc. for $95 million.

Aberdeen Asset Management PLC pulled back 3% after surging 15% on Monday, when Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) said it is selling its asset-management business Scottish Widows Investment Partnership Group Ltd. to the U.K. investment manager.

Miners declined even as metals prices were higher. Shares of Anglo American PLC dropped 2.7%, Glencore Xstrata PLC (GLCNF) gave up 1.8%, and BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) fell 0.6%.

Banks were also lower after being among Monday's gainers. Shares of Standard Chartered PLC dropped 1.2%, Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) gave up 1.4%, and sector heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBC) slipped 0.3%.

Bucking the negative trend in London, shares of EasyJet PLC jumped 7.1% after the budget airliner posted a 51% rise in fiscal 2013 pretax profit, driven by a 11% increase in revenue. It warned, however, that the situation in Egypt, coupled with a later Easter next year, would reduce fiscal first-half revenue per seat.

Oil- and gas-exploration company Afren PLC rallied 8.1% after raising estimates for the prospect of the Ogo oil find off Nigeria.

Outside the major index in London, shares of Thomas Cook Group PLC climbed 5% after the travel agent said it sold the majority of its interests in The Airline Group Ltd., a shareholder in U.K. Air Traffic controller NATS Holdings Ltd., for 38 million pounds ($61.20 million) in cash.

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