By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index declined on
Tuesday as investors paused after a three-day rally, with resource
firms and banks leading the move south.
The FTSE 100 index lost 0.4% to close at 6,698.01, almost
erasing a 0.5% gain from Monday.
Shares of Intertek Group PLC gave up 2.5% after the
product-testing and certification company said it will buy
Architectural Testing Inc. for $95 million.
Aberdeen Asset Management PLC pulled back 3% after surging 15%
on Monday, when Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) said it is selling
its asset-management business Scottish Widows Investment
Partnership Group Ltd. to the U.K. investment manager.
Miners declined even as metals prices were higher. Shares of
Anglo American PLC dropped 2.7%, Glencore Xstrata PLC (GLCNF) gave
up 1.8%, and BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) fell 0.6%.
Banks were also lower after being among Monday's gainers. Shares
of Standard Chartered PLC dropped 1.2%, Lloyds Banking Group PLC
(LYG) gave up 1.4%, and sector heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBC)
slipped 0.3%.
Bucking the negative trend in London, shares of EasyJet PLC
jumped 7.1% after the budget airliner posted a 51% rise in fiscal
2013 pretax profit, driven by a 11% increase in revenue. It warned,
however, that the situation in Egypt, coupled with a later Easter
next year, would reduce fiscal first-half revenue per seat.
Oil- and gas-exploration company Afren PLC rallied 8.1% after
raising estimates for the prospect of the Ogo oil find off
Nigeria.
Outside the major index in London, shares of Thomas Cook Group
PLC climbed 5% after the travel agent said it sold the majority of
its interests in The Airline Group Ltd., a shareholder in U.K. Air
Traffic controller NATS Holdings Ltd., for 38 million pounds
($61.20 million) in cash.
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