By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks tipped into the red
Wednesday, backing away from an effort to reach a record high, with
a downgrade of Barclays PLC weighing on the banking heavyweight's
shares.
The FTSE 100 fell 0.4% to 6,990.97. The lowest close for the
blue-chip index since March 19, according to FactSet data, came in
part as consumer-related shares reversed gains. ARM Holdings PLC
paced individual decliners as the chip designer's shares fell 6.1%,
mirroring losses in tech stocks on Wall Street
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-wall-street-keeps-a-nervous-eye-on-the-sleeping-giant-dollar-2015-03-25).
Brewer SABMiller PLC fell 0.6%. They had been down by nearly 2%
ahead of a formal announcement that H.J. Heinz Co. and Kraft Foods
Group Inc. (KRFT) have agreed to merge
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/kraft-heinz-agree-to-merge-in-buffett-backed-deal-2015-03-25).
The Wall Street Journal noted that there had been speculation
Brazil's 3G Capital was interested in bidding for SABMiller along
with Anheuser Busch InvBev , in which 3G holds a stake.
Under the planned Kraft-Heinz merger, 3G Capital and Berkshire
Hathaway (BRK/A) will contribute $10 billion toward a special
shareholder dividend as part of the transaction that would create
the world's fifth largest food and beverage company.
Shares of Barclays PLC also weighed on the FTSE 100, falling
2.5% following a downgrade to hold from buy at Investec. The
"valuation case is no longer overwhelming in the context of our
deteriorating expectations for the scale and pace of [return on
equity] recovery," wrote analyst Ian Gordon in a note.
But TUI AG shares held the top spot on the FTSE 100, jumping
2.6% as the tourism company said its winter 2014/15 season wrapped
up as it had expected, with higher average-selling prices in most
of its markets. It said for this summer, bookings and
average-selling prices are each up 1%. The demand for its own
holiday packages account for 74% of summer bookings, higher by
three percentage points from the year-ago period.
The FTSE 100 on Tuesday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-grips-onto-record-high-but-centrica-shares-lag-2015-03-24)
had been on track to surpasses its previous record closing high of
7,037.67, but reversed course toward the end of the session and
lost 0.3%.
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