By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index scored a 4.6%
monthly advance on Friday after a volatile session where losses for
Pearson PLC and Aggreko PLC kept the benchmark just below the flat
line.
The FTSE 100 index closed marginally lower at 6,809.70 and ended
the week 0.4% lower.
Posting the biggest loss in the index, shares of Pearson slumped
5.9% after the publisher of the Financial Times said full-year
operating profit declined due to weakness in its U.S. education
business.
Aggreko gave up 4.3% after the temporary-power company said
Chief Executive Rupert Soames will leave the firm to become CEO at
Serco Group PLC . Shares of Serco Group rallied 12%.
Mining firms also added to the pressure, as they tracked most
metals prices lower. Shares of Randgold Resources Ltd. dropped
2.5%, Antofagasta PLC lost 2.3% and heavyweight Rio Tinto PLC (RIO)
erased 0.8%.
Banks moved lower, with shares of Standard Chartered PLC down
1.2% and HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBC) 1% lower.
Earlier in the day, sentiment was hurt by a negative mood in the
rest of Europe after better-than-expected euro-zone inflation data
eased pressure on the European Central Bank to act at its meeting
next week. Economists have recently worried that the region was
heading toward deflation, increasing speculation that the ECB would
either cut rates or use unconventional easing measures to loosen
policy at its March meeting.
However, better-than-expected U.S. datalifted European markets
out of the red and helped the FTSE 100 trim losses.
Among gainers in London, shares of Old Mutual PLC climbed 5.9%
after the investment firm lifted its full-year dividend and said
adjusted operating pretax profit rose last year on a
constant-currency basis.
William Hill PLC gained 6.1% after reporting an increase in
full-year profit as it benefited from a strong revenue at its
online business.
Mondi PLC advanced 5.9% after the paper and packaging firm
reported a 22% rise in headline underlying operating profit for
2013.
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