LONDON: The top share index stabled near a two-month high on Monday, with Aviva descending after delineation a deal to buy Friends Life and Petrofac dropped after calculating a low net profit.
Aviva fell 3.9 percent after saying on Friday it had agreed terms on a possible deal to buy rival Friends Life for 5.6 billion pounds, as British pension reforms put pressure on insurers to find new business. Friends Life rose 7.3 percent.
Petrofac sank 23.7 percent, its worst one-day percentage drop ever, after the oil and gas services firm said it expected net profit in 2015 to be around $500 million – towards the lower end of its previous guidance range of $580 million to $600 million.
The benchmark blue-chip FTSE 100 index was flat at 6,750.95 points by 0857 GMT. It closed 1.1 percent higher after hitting a two-month high on Friday, marking a fifth straight week of gains, after a surprise interest rate cut in China boosted mining and commodities stocks.
Miners fell the most on Monday, with the UK mining index dropping 1.3 percent following a retreat in major industrial prices on concerns about demand for raw materials.
Shares in major miners BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Anglo American fell 1.7 to 2.1 percent.
Among other sharp movers, London Stock Exchange rose 2.2 percent to a record high, making it the top gainer on the FTSE 100, after positive broker updates, traders said.
shanghai shares start week with losses 25 june 2018
Hong Kong, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Jun, 2018 ) :Hong Kong and mainland Chinese stocks fell on...
