By Carla Mozee and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks clawed back afternoon losses
on Monday to end little changed on Monday, but the main index
lagged the rest of Europe as sharply falling crude prices pressured
energy plays.
The FTSE 100 ended flat at 6,501.42, while the rest of Europe
rallied on further expectations of quantitative easing from the
European Central Bank. The U.K. benchmark slumped 1.1% on
Friday.
Energy stocks were in the red as crude-oil futures continued to
slump following steep cuts by Goldman Sachs of its forecasts for
oil. At the time of the European close, oil futures for February
delivery (CLG5) were down 4% at $46.44 a barrel.
Read: Oil's slump could upend $2 trillion in investments,
Goldman Sachs says
Major oil companies BP PLC (BP) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB)
fell 0.5% and 1.6%, respectively. BG Group PLC (BG) lost 3.6%.
Meanwhile, shares of home builder Taylor Wimpey PLC fell 1.2%.
The company said it enters the new year with a "record" order book
that has risen in value by 12%, driven largely from private
reservations. The company also said 2015 is beginning with "a lower
rate of price growth" that should foster a more sustainable housing
market.
On the upside, engineering group GKN led advancers, rising 3.2%
after Credit Suisse said opportunities from its automotive
operations "offer potential to deliver upside surprise" to
consensus estimates for a measure of GKN's earnings, particularly
in fiscal year 2016. The price target was raised to GBP4.10 ($6.20)
from GBP3.80.
Shares of Associated British Foods rose 0.9% as Credit Suisse
also pushed up its price target on the parent company of apparel
retailer Primark to GBP32.50 from GBP30 ahead of the company's
sales update on Thursday.
With Primark sales set to grow and ABF's sugar business "no
longer the drag, we see double-digit EPS growth over the medium
term," said Credit Suisse analyst Charlie Mills in a note. Earnings
may grow about 15% in the 2015/16 year as ABF enters the U.S.
market and sugar recovers somewhat. Primark is slated to open its
first U.S. store this year in Boston.
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