By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks dropped after four straight
week of gains on Monday, with shares of GlaxoSmithKline PLC adding
pressure after the drug maker admitted some executives may have
broken Chinese law.
The FTSE 100 index lost 0.2% to 6,615.03.
Glaxo shares (GSK) fell 1.6% after the pharma giant said some of
its senior executives appeared to have violated Chinese law. The
statement came after Chinese officials alleged that the company was
involved in widespread bribery in the country in order to get
health-care providers to prescribe its products.
AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) lost 0.4%.
Precious metals firm advanced, as gold and silver prices showed
solid gains. Shares of Fresnillo PLC added 3.1%. Randgold Resources
Ltd. climbed 2.8% to GBP46.52 after Morgan Stanley lifted the price
target on the miner to GBP49 from GBP46.
"RRS operates high-quality assets that are still capable of
generating substantial cash flows (albeit diminished) in the
current gold price environment," the analysts said.
"The company conservatively maintains a solid balance sheet and
could sustain a net cash position while fully funding its growth
capex through 2014," they added.
Shares of Anglo American PLC rose 0.4% after its subsidiary
Anglo American Platinum Ltd. swung to a profit in the first half of
the year, helped by better sales volumes.
Oil firms were also helped higher by a rise in oil prices. BG
Group PLC added 1.1%, and Tullow Oil PLC rose 0.6%.
Barclays PLC (BCS) rose 1%. South Africa's Absa Group Ltd. said
it has received regulatory approval to take over Barclay's African
operations.
Also in the news in the U.K. on Monday, the Duchess of Cambridge
was early in the morning admitted to hospital in the early stages
of labor. The baby will be the first born of Prince William and his
wife Kate, and will be third in line to the British throne.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires