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 fell 0.1% to 10,663.68 points by 1037 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 slipped 0.06%.
* Precious metal miners 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, however, rose 0.7% - led by easyJet, 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 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 Middle East, 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 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.
