By Tharuniyaa Lakshmi

London's FTSE 100 edged lower on Monday as losses in precious metal miners outweighed gains in financial stocks, while investors assessed a string of merger and acquisition announcements.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index CURRENCYCOM:UK100 fell 0.1% to 10,663.68 points by 1037 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 FTSE:MCX slipped 0.06%.

  • Precious metal miners FTSE:NMX551030 fell 0.9% after gold prices slipped from a two-week high, as the U.S. dollar ticked up in anticipation of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting minutes due later this week.

  • Travel and leisure stocks (.FTNMX405010), however, rose 0.7% — led by easyJet LSE:EZJ, which gained 9.9% after the British budget airline agreed in principle to a sweetened takeover offer from U.S. investment firm Castlelake, valuing the carrier at up to 5.5 billion pounds ($7.34 billion).

  • Media stocks led sectoral gains, rising 0.9%, boosted by a 3.9% jump in WPP shares, while ITV LSE:ITV added 1.6% after the British broadcaster agreed to sell its media and entertainment division to Comcast-owned Sky for 1.6 billion pounds ($2.13 billion).

  • "There's plenty of, in particular, U.S. money, but also Chinese money that looks at some of the assets," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation. "It's a good opportunity to get invested or even to buy a chunk of UK companies."

  • On the geopolitical front, investors saw little progress in efforts to ease tensions in the , though uninterrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and expectations of higher supply helped push oil prices lower.

  • The Bank of England could give Britain's government bond market a boost this week and lower public borrowing costs by more than 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) a year, banks say — but some former regulators warn a change in rules to achieve this would increase financial risks.

  • Among individual stocks, Ocado LSE:OCDO fell 5.6% after the online grocery technology firm said Tim Steiner would continue to serve as CEO until the start of the 2028 financial year, when it will aim to have a successor in place.