By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch)--U.K. stocks slipped Friday, but the benchmark FTSE 100 ended the month of February with a gain as well as a notable record.

The FTSE 100 slipped 3 points to 6,946.66, easing back from Thursday's rise that marked its second record closing high this week; on Tuesday, it logged its best close since December 1999 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-the-ftse-100-closing-at-its-highest-level-in-15-years-means-2015-02-24).

For the month, the British blue-chip index rose 3.2%, the best monthly rise since February 2014, according to FactSet data.

Leading decliners on Friday, shares of Intu Properties PLC fell 5.1% following financial results that fell short of analyst estimates. Fiscal year 2014 "should represent the earnings trough but we see poor growth prospects due to slow capture of rental reversions and major developments still far off," wrote Investec analyst Alison Watson in a note.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC fell 5%, adding to Thursday's drop of 4.1% after the company posted a yearly loss and outlined plans to dismantle its global investment bank (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rbs-to-reduce-global-footprint-2015-02-26), among other moves.

But outperforming the benchmark on Friday was International Consolidated Airlines Group SA , with shares rising 3.7% as the British Airways operator increased its 2015 operating profit target (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/iag-profit-jumps-ups-operating-profit-target-22-2015-02-27) by 22%. The move was made possible in part by lower fuel costs as the carrier reported a jump in net profit 309 million euros ($346 million).

Also hitting higher was Associated British Foods PLC , rising 2.5% as Barclays started coverage of the company with an overweight rating. While the company doesn't look set for a great fiscal 2015, "we believe that ABF may finally enjoy a perfect alignment of the stars as the year unfolds" based on the possibility of positive upcoming developments in each of its divisions, including the Primark retail chain, said Barclays.

Lloyds Banking Group PLC also moved higher, up 0.6% as the bank said it would pay its first dividend since being bailed out (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/lloyds-resumes-dividends-as-it-returns-to-profit-2015-02-27) by the U.K. government during the financial crisis. The recommended dividend is 0.75 pence a share for 2014. Lloyds also said it swung to a profit of GBP1.13 billion ($1.74 billion).

Glencore PLC shares ended up 0.2%. They had dropped during the session after the mining company said it plans to reduce Australian coal production (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/glencore-cuts-australian-coal-production-2015-02-27) by around 15%, citing subdued demand.

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