By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index struggled to
stay at a 14-year high on Thursday, with Vodafone falling after a
broker downgrade and Aviva down after a trading update.
The benchmark index in London fell 0.1% to 6,874.74, after
closing at the highest level since December 1999 on Wednesday.
Dragging the index lower, shares of Vodafone Group PLC (VOD)
gave up 1.1% after Goldman Sachs removed the telecom firm from its
pan-Europe buy list and cut the rating to neutral from buy. The
analysts explained that recent press reports suggest that possible
suitors for Vodafone are looking at other takeover opportunities,
which lowers the M&A potential. The Wall Street Journal
reported earlier in the week that AT&T (T) is close to sealing
a takeover of DirecTV(DTV).
Aviva PLC lost 2.9% after the insurer reported strong
performance in Europe in the first quarter, but a disappointing
U.K. outcome.
Also on the decline, Tullow Oil PLC gave up 2.8% after the
oil-exploration company gave a disappointing update on its Kenya
operations.
On a more upbeat note in London, shares of London Stock Exchange
Group PLC advanced 2.2% after the company lifted its total dividend
payment by 4.4%, and said that it has identified additional cost
savings in relation to the integration of LCH.Clearnet.
Outside the main U.K. index, shares of Thomas Cook Group PLC
slid 6.2% after the travel operator said a weakness in travel to
Egypt reduced half-year revenue by 131 million pounds ($221.0
million).
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