By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K.'s FTSE 100 index ended Monday in negative territory after weak U.S. housing data discouraged investors in the U.S. and Europe during a data-light European day.

The benchmark index lost 0.1% to close at 6,788.07, marking a second straight session in the red. The FTSE traded as high as 6,809.61 earlier in the day, but moved lower alongside other European and U.S. markets after pending home sales in the U.S. fell in June for the first time in four months.

Shares of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC led decliners in London and slumped 5.3% after the company reported a decline in third-quarter assets under management.

Shares in GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) slipped 0.6% after the British drug giant's chief executive said the company is open to spinning off its consumer health-care business in an interview with the Financial Times published Sunday.

On a more upbeat note, Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC gained 2.7% after the company said it will pursue a spinoff of its pharmaceutical unit to focus more on its core consumer health and hygiene business. Additionally, Reckitt Benckiser reported a 7% fall in second-quarter sales.

Shares of EasyJet PLC climbed 0.9% after Citigroup upgraded the airliner to buy from neutral.

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) was also in the spotlight after U.S. and U.K. authorities imposed roughly $370 million of fines on the bank for attempting to rig the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, and other widely used interest-rate benchmarks. Lloyds shares closed marginally higher.

More must-reads from MarketWatch:

How to play the pound in Scotland's independence vote

Buy-and-hold investing is impossible

What the M&A surge says about the stock market

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