By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Extending sharp losses from last week,
the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index traded broadly lower on Monday as
tensions between Russia and Ukraine continued to weigh on the
investing mood.
The London benchmark dropped 0.5% to 6,527.31 after closing with
a 2% loss last week.
Energy firms added the most pressure on the index, with BP PLC
(BP) down 1.3%, BG Group PLC 1.2% lower and Royal Dutch Shell PLC
(RDSB) off 0.6%.
More widely, investors monitored events in Ukraine, where
pro-Russia militants continued to occupy official buildings after a
government deadline to disarm passed. Earlier, Kiev said a
serviceman was killed and five wounded after camouflaged gunmen
fired on government troops near Slovyansk, about 240 kilometers
from Ukraine's border with Russia, according to Bloomberg. Ukraine,
Russia, the U.S. and European Union are scheduled to hold talks in
Geneva on April 17 to resolve the crisis, which unfolded in late
February when Russian troops seized the Ukrainian peninsula of
Crimea.
The tensions also impacted the trading mood in the rest of
Europe, with most country-specific indexes posting sharp
losses.
Risk-sensitive sectors sold off in London, with financials among
decliners. Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) dropped 3%,
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) lost 1.4% and Barclays PLC
(BCS) fell 1%.
The nervousness over Ukraine also lured investors into
safe-haven gold (GCM4), which rose more than $6 an ounce and gave a
lift to precious-metals miners. Randgold Resources Ltd. rose 1.3%
and Fresnillo PLC picked up 1.4%.
Among other resource firms, shares of Glencore Xstrata PLC
(GLCNF) gained 1%. The mining major said on Sunday it agreed to
sell its Las Bambas Peruvian copper project to a Chinese consortium
in an all-cash deal worth at least $5.8 billion.
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