By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- London stocks fell on the first day of
trading for 2014, though losses were muted compared with a bigger
pullback across the rest of Europe.
Shares of Unilever PLC and Tesco PLC were among stocks that
fell.
The FTSE 100 index dropped 31.18 points, or 0.5%, to 6,717.91.
The index finished 2013 with a 14% annual gain, its best
performance since 2009.
On Thursday, losses were extended as Wall Street pushed deeper
into the red in early trade.
Decliners outpaced gainers, with volumes still thin as some
traders remain away from their desks in a week shortened by the
holiday. Among the heavyweights, shares of Associated British Foods
PLC rose 1.8% and International Consolidated Airlines Group SA
added 1.2%.
Brenda Kelly, chief market strategist at IG, said the recent
rally seen by London markets and across Europe has been hit as
investors have taken profits. Sentiment was also dented by a
slowing in factory growth out of China, while in the U.K., the
Markit/CIPS manufacturing purchasing managers index fell
unexpectedly to 57.3 from 58.1 in November.
Among retailers, Next PLC added 1.5%. The retail sector got
dented earlier in the week when Debenhams PLC warned that
first-half pretax profit would take a hit from "highly promotional"
activity in the sector over Christmas. Shares of Debenhams rose
1.4% after the company announced the resignation of Chief Financial
Officer Simon Herrick.
Tesco PLC lost ground, falling 1.3%
Shares of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC fell 2% after reports
Credit Suisse cut its view on shares to neutral from
outperform.
More on the markets from MarketWatch:
Follow U.S. markets on the live blog
European stocks fall, but Fiat soars
What the big money is betting on
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