By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks were on track to break an eight-day winning streak on Tuesday, with miners adding pressure, while Severn Trent PLC soared after bid news.

The FTSE 100 index slipped 0.1% to 6,624.87, pulling back after reaching the highest closing level since October 2007 on Monday.

Shares of Severn Trent jumped 15%, after the water-utility firm said it received a "very early stage" bid approach, although no proposal has been made.

United Utilities Group PLC tracked Severn Trent higher and gained 4.1%.

Mining firms, however, added pressure in Europe, as metals prices traded mixed. Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. dropped 2.8%, Anglo American PLC fell 2.5% and Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) gave up 2.2%.

TUI Travel PLC slipped 1.8%, after J.P. Morgan Cazenove cut the holiday firm to neutral from overweight.

Babcock International Group PLC put on 4%, after the engineering support-services firm reported a rise in fiscal full-year pretax profit and said it sees strong progress this year.

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

Babcock (PK) (USOTC:BCKIY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024 Click Here for more Babcock (PK) Charts.
Babcock (PK) (USOTC:BCKIY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024 Click Here for more Babcock (PK) Charts.