By Carla Mozee and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

Analyst: 'Equities are a shade offside to start the new week'

U.K.'s blue-chip stocks finished in the red Monday after last week's strong performance, with losses for consumer-goods heavyweight Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC pressuring the London market's benchmark.

How markets are moving

The FTSE 100was down 0.6% to end at 7,247.66.

The index last week gained 2.9% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-rises-on-track-to-break-weekly-losing-streak-2018-02-16), representing its strongest week since December 2016.

Read:Which markets are closed on Presidents Day? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/which-markets-are-closed-on-presidents-day-2018-02-14)

The poundtraded at $1.4001, down moderately from $1.4033 late Friday in New York.

The yield on the 10-year giltwas recently up 2 basis points at 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 pulled back after rising in three consecutive sessions last week, taking part in a global rebound for equities following an early-February meltdown that yanked the S&P 500and 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.

"Global equities are a shade offside to start the new week with holidays in Asia (Lunar New Year) and the U.S. (Presidents Day) reducing trading volumes," said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, in a note.

"This means a pause for last week's global rebound. However, it may prove timely in terms of providing investors with a little more time to digest and decide -- ahead of a busy corporate update roster -- whether the recovery merits another up-leg," he said.

Banking heavyweights HSBC PLC(HSBA.LN)and Barclays PLC(BCS)are among the companies expected to release financial updates in the coming days.

Stock movers

Reckitt Benckiser Group(RB.LN)dropped 7.5% as the maker of Lysol, Clearasil and other consumer 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 in line with guidance that had been revised downward over the course of the year. It was the FTSE 100's biggest loser.

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 2.8% and iron ore miner Rio Tinto PLC(RIO)shed 1.2%.

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 19, 2018 12:33 ET (17:33 GMT)

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