LONDON MARKETS: Unilever's Dive Offsets Jump For RBS, Leaving FTSE 100 Marooned
February 20 2017 - 12:24PM
Dow Jones News
By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
U.K. index closes flat; Kraft withdrew Unilever bid over
weekend
U.K. stocks finished roughly flat on Monday, with the main
benchmark hamstrung by a big drop in Unilever PLC shares after
Kraft Heinz Co. withdrew its bid for the company.
The FTSE 100 ended little changed at 7,299.86. The gauge last
week gained 0.6%, putting it around a one-month high.
Shares in Unilever PLC (ULVR.LN) (ULVR.LN) (UNA.AE) closed down
6.6% for the FTSE's biggest loss after American rival Kraft Heinz
Co. (KHC) on Sunday dropped its $143 billion offer
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/kraft-heinz-withdraws-bid-for-unilever-2017-02-19)
for the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS.LN) (RBS.LN) gained 6.8%
following news the bank might not sell its Williams & Glyn
business
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rbs-may-forgo-williams-glyn-sale-2017-02-20).
RBS had agreed to the sale during the financial crisis, but it has
proved troublesome. The bank's stock was the FTSE 100's largest
gainer.
The British benchmark is up 2.2% so far this year. It's 23%
higher over the past 12 months.
"It would appear we're still in a kind of trance at the moment
whereby equity markets continue to shuffle higher in the hope that
Donald Trump will deliver on his fiscal stimulus, tax and
deregulation plans," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at
Oanda, in a note Monday.
Erlam said he sees no conviction in recent steps higher, and
"we're nearing the point at which investors may start demanding
something a little more concrete."
Trading was somewhat subdued Monday, as U.S. markets were closed
for Presidents Day
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/which-markets-will-be-closed-on-presidents-day-2017-02-16).
(http://projects.marketwatch.com/2017/trump-today-signup/)
Other movers: Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (RR.LN) jumped 6.3% after
Goldman Sachs analysts upgraded their rating for the engines maker
to buy andput the stock on their "conviction" list.
In the FTSE 250 , Bovis Homes Group PLC (BVS.LN) closed down 10%
after the builder warned
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bovis-shares-fall-profit-down-in-difficult-year-2017-02-20)
it expects to construct 10% to 15% fewer homes in the U.K. this
year. The midcap index finished 0.2% higher at 18,746.22.
The pound was trading at $1.2462, up from $1.2421 late Friday,
as traders tracked debate in the House of Lords over the Brexit
bill. The bill would keep the U.K. on course to leave the European
Union, and the Lords are expected to offer amendments but not stop
the triggering of Article 50, the formal start to talks on the
withdrawal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 20, 2017 12:09 ET (17:09 GMT)
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