By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) ? U.K. stocks retreated from a 4? year high on Thursday, as shares of Vodafone Group PLC dropped on speculation the telecom firm is considering an acquisition, while weak euro-zone growth data spooked the broader market.
The FTSE 100 index /quotes/zigman/3173262 UK:UKX -0.50% dropped 0.5% to close at 6,327.36, retreating from its highest closing level since May 2008 reached on Wednesday.
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Shares of Vodafone /quotes/zigman/421253 UK:VOD -2.39% /quotes/zigman/101873/quotes/nls/vod VOD -2.11% dropped 2.4%, adding to the previous day?s losses when reports said the wireless-telecom firm was considering a takeover of German cable network operator Kabel Deutschland Holding AG /quotes/zigman/590596 DE:KD8 +1.26% . See: Vodafone may buy Kabel Deutschland: report .
Shire PLC /quotes/zigman/508678 UK:SHP -5.50% slumped 5.5%, as it reported a drop in fourth-quarter operating profit. See: Shire op. income falls; sees '13 results in line
Shares of Barclays PLC /quotes/zigman/301787 UK:BARC -2.15% /quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs BCS -1.88% lost 2.2%, after Investec Securitites cut the bank to hold from buy.
?We believe that, for now, Barclays? shares have arrived. They have traveled 119% in less than 7 months since the July 2012 lows,? said Ian Gordon, an analyst at Investec, in a note.
Vodafone shares extend losses on Thursday.?Although we downgrade Barclays to an absolute hold today, we continue to expect it to deliver further relative outperformance. A long Barclays/short Royal Bank of Scotland trade has returned over 15% year-to-date, but we still see further value in such a position,? he said.
News from the euro zone weighed on sentiment in London. Gross domestic product for the currency bloc fell 0.6% in the fourth quarter of last year, coming in below analysts? expectations. See: Europe stocks hit by weak euro-zone GDP
Shares of Rio Tinto PLC /quotes/zigman/182541/quotes/nls/rio RIO -0.36% /quotes/zigman/155899 UK:RIO -0.31% /quotes/zigman/176317 AU:RIO +2.28% fell 0.3% after the miner swung to its first full-year loss, hurt by a sharp drop in commodity prices and an almost $14 billion impairment charge. See: Rio Tinto swings to loss on weaker prices, charge
Most other mining firms were also under pressure, tracking most metals prices lower. Shares of Kazakhmys PLC /quotes/zigman/391399 UK:KAZ -1.96% lost 2%, while Antofagasta PLC /quotes/zigman/139152 UK:ANTO -0.53% slipped 0.5%. See: Gold prices struggle; demand hits a record
Shares of cruise liner Carnival PLC /quotes/zigman/321074 UK:CCL -2.91% ? /quotes/zigman/322132/quotes/nls/ccl CCL -0.09% ?fell 2.9%, after it late Wednesday said that a fire on one of its cruise ships will shave off 8 cents to 10 cents of its earnings in the first half of 2013. A fire over the weekend left the Carnival Triumph ship adrift in the Gulf of Mexico with more than 4,000 people on board.
On an upbeat note in London, shares of fashion retailer Next PLC /quotes/zigman/312884 UK:NXT +1.21% climbed 1.2%, after HSBC lifted the stock to overweight from neutral. The bank further raised its recommendation on online clothing retailer Asos PLC /quotes/zigman/292076 UK:ASC +1.54% to overweight from neutral, sending its shares 1.5% higher.
Outside the main index in London, shares of soft-drinks firm Britvic PLC /quotes/zigman/399163 UK:BVIC -7.14% ?sank 7.1% after J.P. Morgan Cazenove cut the stock to underweight from neutral and Soci?t? G?n?rale slashed its recommendation to sell from buy. On Wednesday, the U.K.?s Office of Fair Trading referred the proposed merger with A.G. Barr PLC /quotes/zigman/10258011 UK:BAG -2.52% ?to the Competition Commission for further investigation. See: Barr-Britvic merger under further investigation
/quotes/zigman/3173262
UK : FTSE Indices
Volume: 0.00
Feb. 14, 2013 4:35p
/quotes/zigman/421253 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 190.61M
Feb. 14, 2013 4:35p
Market Cap?84.01 billion
Rev. per Employee?517,257
/quotes/zigman/101873/quotes/nls/vod US : U.S.: Nasdaq
Volume: 10.36M
Feb. 14, 2013 1:17p
Market Cap$130.59 billion
Rev. per Employee$867,308
/quotes/zigman/590596 DE : Germany: Frankfurt
Volume: 1,770
Feb. 14, 2013 6:06p
Market Cap?6.12 billion
Rev. per Employee?635,171
/quotes/zigman/508678 UK : U.K.: London
2,027.00 p
-118.00 -5.50%
Volume: 4.69M
Feb. 14, 2013 4:35p
Market Cap?11.96 billion
Rev. per Employee?558,501
/quotes/zigman/301787 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 53.61M
Feb. 14, 2013 4:35p
Market Cap?39.91 billion
Rev. per Employee?226,471
/quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs US : U.S.: NYSE
Volume: 2.13M
Feb. 14, 2013 1:16p
Rev. per Employee$360,727
/quotes/zigman/182541/quotes/nls/rio US : U.S.: NYSE
Volume: 869,236
Feb. 14, 2013 1:16p
Rev. per Employee$836,487
/quotes/zigman/155899 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 8.29M
Feb. 14, 2013 4:35p
Market Cap?53.03 billion
Rev. per Employee?527,959
/quotes/zigman/176317 AU : Australia: Sydney
Volume: 3.82M
Feb. 14, 2013 5:01p
Rev. per Employee$811,248
/quotes/zigman/391399 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 967,049
Feb. 14, 2013 4:35p
Rev. per Employee?34,758
/quotes/zigman/139152 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 1.59M
Feb. 14, 2013 4:35p
Market Cap?11.06 billion
Rev. per Employee?787,887
/quotes/zigman/321074 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 1.42M
Feb. 14, 2013 4:35p
Rev. per Employee?106,500
/quotes/zigman/322132/quotes/nls/ccl US : U.S.: NYSE
Volume: 5.40M
Feb. 14, 2013 1:17p
Rev. per Employee$171,483
/quotes/zigman/312884 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 483,021
Feb. 14, 2013 4:35p
Rev. per Employee?62,445
/quotes/zigman/292076 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 474,336
Feb. 14, 2013 4:35p
Rev. per Employee?575,282
/quotes/zigman/399163 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 7.52M
Feb. 14, 2013 4:35p
Rev. per Employee?376,506
/quotes/zigman/10258011 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 277,028
Feb. 14, 2013 4:35p
Market Cap?601.94 million
Rev. per Employee?250,044
Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter based in London. Follow her on Twitter @sarasjolin.
Source: http://feeds.marketwatch.com/~r/marketwatch/financial/~3/3UZ8KyDlOPs/story.asp
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