By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — U.K. stocks were mostly lower on Monday, with banks tracking steep losses for the sector across Europe on the back of political uncertainty in Italy.
The FTSE 100 index UK:UKX -0.01% dropped 0.1% to 5,909.73.
Shares of WPP PLC UK:UKX -0.01% posted one of the biggest losses in the index, down 1.2%, after Deutsche Bank cut the advertising firm to hold from buy.
The bank also cut the Daily Mail & General Trust PLC UK:DMGT -0.55% to sell from hold, its shares falling 0.8%
Banks were also among biggest decliners, as worries over the political situation in Italy spooked investors out of risk-sensitive sectors, such as banks. The country’s prime minister Mario Monti told the president over the weekend that he was prepared to resign as soon as a budget law is passed by parliament. The move comes after Silvio Berlusconi’s PDL party last week withdrew support for Monti’s technocratic government, igniting fears of an early election in the country. See: Watch yield spreads as Monti calls it quits
Shares of Barclays PLC UK:BARC -0.91% BCS -0.62% dropped 1% and Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC UK:RBS -0.37% RBS -0.52% fell 0.6%. Shares of sector heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC UK:HSBA -0.53% HBC -0.02% HK:5 +0.25% slipped 0.7%.
Also moving lower in London, shares of Vodafone Group PLC UK:VOD -0.19% VOD +0.48% dropped 0.3% to £1.61 a share, after HSBC lowered its target price on the firm to £2.05 from £2.20 previously. HSBC, however, kept its overweight rating on Vodafone.
Most mining firms were on the decline, ignoring upbeat trades for most metals. See: Gold futures edge higher after data deluge
