LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Gains, But CRH Shares Drop In London Trade

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks rose Monday, following last week's bruising round of losses for the benchmark FTSE 100.

The FTSE 100 rose 0.3% to 6,759.63, with consumer-services, financial and basic-materials shares pacing advances. Specialty chemicals firm Johnson Matthey PLC was at the top of the benchmark as its shares rose 2.2%. Aberdeen Asset Management PLC rose 1.7%, and luxury-goods retailer Burberry Group PLC picked up 1.6%.

But shares of building materials group CRH PLC dropped 2.7% as a proposed EUR42 billion ($44.27 billion) merger between Holcim Ltd. and rival cement giant Lafarge SA appeared on the verge of collapse (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/holcim-board-rejects-terms-of-proposed-4427-billion-larfarge-merger-2015-03-16). CRH had agreed to purchase some assets from the companies.

Last week, the FTSE 100 fell 2.5% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/utilities-fall-in-london-trade-ftse-100-facing-weekly-loss-2015-03-13), its biggest weekly loss since December, in part as mining and energy shares were driven lower as a surge in the dollar (DXY) against its rivals hurt dollar-denominated commodities.

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