BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - After a flat start and a subsequent upmove that took it to a four-month high, the UK stock market slipped into negative territory on Monday with the mood turning a bit cautious after data showed continued contraction in the nation's construction sector activity.
The benchmark FTSE 100, which advanced to 10,734.36, was down 26.31 points or 0.2% at 10,652.72 about a quarter past noon.
Halma and Fresnillo drifted lower by 2.5% and 2.4%, respectively. Airtel Africa, Associated British Foods, IMI, Diploma, Spirax Group, Games Workshop, Whitbread, Intercontinental Hotels Group and Smiths Group shed 1.5%-2%.
Centrica, Rolls-Royce Holdings, AstraZeneca, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, SSE, Segro and Compass Group also dropped notably lower.
Ocado Group declined more than 3%. The online grocery and technology group announced that Tim Steiner would continue to serve as chief executive until the start of the 2028 financial year.
Relx, St. James's Place, Experian, Barratt Redrow, LSEG, BAE Systems, Aberdeen Group and IAG gained 1.5%-2.7%.
IG Group Holdings, Pershing Square Holding, Prudential, Burberry Group, Pearson, Admiral Group and Computacenter moved up 0.7%-1.3%.
EasyJet soared 11%. The British budget airline has agreed in principle to a takeover offer worth around £5.2bn from U.S. investment firm Castlelake.
Survey results from S&P Global showed the construction sector in UK logged a contraction in June, with the construction Purchasing Managers' Index registering a score of 38.4 for the month, up from May's six-year low of 38.2.
A report from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Limited (SMMT) showed UK new car sales surged by 11.4% year-on-year to 213,166 units in June, the best performance for the month since 2019.
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