By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Carnival downgraded
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks were moving lower Monday
after hitting an record on Friday, with shares of Carnival PLC, on
the heels of a downgrade, among those names pulling back.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was off 2 points at 7,020.88, as mining
stocks turned higher. Also gaining was Standard Chartered PLC .
Standard Chartered rallied 7.3% as Citi raised its price target
on shares of the Asia-focused lender to GBP13 from GBP12.50, and
said the recent appointment of Bill Winters as the company's chief
executive
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/standard-chartered-names-bill-winters-next-ceo-as-it-shakes-up-top-brass-2015-02-26)
"puts the spotlight back on an unloved stock." Value at Standard
Chartered "can be unlocked" by prioritizing costs, credits and
capital, among other factors, said Citi analysts.
The mining group had been in the red earlier in the session
alongside prices for oil and metals, which remained under pressure.
Shares of miner Anglo American PLC switched higher, trading up
0.2%, and iron ore heavyweight BHP Billiton PLC climbed 2%.
In the heavily weighted energy group, shares of oil major BP PLC
narrowed their loss to 0.5%, while shares of Royal Dutch Shell PLC
picked up 1.8% and BG Group PLC .
Shares of energy engineering firm Weir Group PLC were down 3%,
essentially wiping out last week's 3% gain. RBC Capital Markets on
Monday lowered its view on Weir to sector perform from top
pick.
A rally in energy-and-mining shares on Friday, aided by the
impact of a drop in the U.S. dollar (DXY) on dollar-denominated
resources, helped push the FTSE 100 to a record-high close of
7,022.51
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-edges-up-but-on-track-for-best-week-in-two-months-2015-03-20).
Friday was the first session in which the blue-chip index rose
above 7,000. The dollar on Friday resumed a selloff on expectations
that Federal Reserve policy makers would leave interest rates lower
for longer.
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-takes-step-to-rate-hike-but-scales-back-intended-pace-2015-03-18)
But investors should "not read too much into the recent new
high", said Tom Elliott, international investment strategist at
deVere Group, in a note Monday. "We are nervous of buying into a
rally that is less about improved corporate earnings forecasts, and
more about delving into the tea leaves of statements from the U.S.
Fed regarding Janet Yellen's use of the word 'patient'."
Meanwhile on Monday, shares of Carnival PLC fell 2.4% after
Deutsche Bank cut its rating on the cruise operator to hold from
buy. Carnival's first-quarter update is likely to show further
bookings and pricing recovery, among other improvements, but
significant moves in the euro and the pound could lead to fiscal
year 2015 per-share earnings guidance being reduced by about 8%,
the bank's analysts said.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC shares fell 1.7% in their first day
trading as part of the FTSE 100.
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