11-Feb-2012 - UK stocks fall amid uncertainty over Greece

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By Clare Hutchison, MarketWatch LONDON (MarketWatch) — British stocks extended losses on Friday as investors reflected on news that a deal nfl jerseys from china for a second Greek bailout would not take place before next week. The FTSE 100 index /quotes/zigman/3173262 UK:UKX -0.83%  fell 0.7% to 5,852.68. Greece needs a second bailout to make a bond repayment of 14.5 billion euros (19 billion) due in March. However, the country's international lenders, which include the European Union, have asked the government to get a new round of austerity cuts ratified in the Greek Parliament before signing off on the rescue package. The vote in the Greek Parliament is expected to take place on Sunday. Still, media outlets reported Friday that the leader of Greece's LAOS party, a junior partner in the governing coalition, said he couldn't back the additional austerity measures. In London, the mining sector led the FTSE 100 index downward, as commodities prices came under pressure. Kazakhmys PLC /quotes/zigman/391399 UK:KAZ -4.59%  fell 4.5%, while Anglo American PLC /quotes/zigman/470624 UK:AAL -4.35%  slipped 4.2% and BHP Billiton PLC /quotes/zigman/184879 UK:BLT -3.36%   /quotes/zigman/270355/quotes/nls/bhp BHP -3.55%  lost 3.5%. Heavyweight Rio Tinto PLC /quotes/zigman/155899 UK:RIO -1.97%  shed 2.3%. Financial-services firms also suffered. Man Group PLC /quotes/zigman/487128 UK:EMG -4.73% was the biggest loser, dropping 5.2%, followed closely by inter-dealer broker ICAP PLC /quotes/zigman/336708 UK:IAP -3.64% , which fell 3.8%. Insurers were hit hard in afternoon trade, with Aviva PLC /quotes/zigman/153201 UK:AV -2.44%  down 2.4%. Old Mutual PLC /quotes/zigman/203487 UK:OML -1.96%  gave up 1.9% and Standard Life PLC /quotes/zigman/423566 UK:SL -2.43%  slid 2.6%. Utilities firm National Grid PLC /quotes/zigman/381306 UK:NG -1.25%  fell 1.7%, after J.P. Morgan Cazenove downgraded its rating on the stock to neutral from overweight, saying upcoming regulatory reviews could create challenges for the firm. Some banking stocks moved into negative territory. Lloyds Banking Group PLC /quotes/zigman/126322 nfl trade jerseys UK:LLOY -1.15%   /quotes/zigman/255656/quotes/nls/lyg LYG -1.34% /quotes/zigman/255656/quotes/nls/lyg nhl jerseys from china LYG -1.34% was down 2.2% and HSBC Holdings PLC /quotes/zigman/13843 UK:HSBA -1.97%  fell by 1.9%. Standard Chartered PLC /quotes/zigman/22532 UK:STAN -1.21%  lost 1.3%. On the upside, Barclays PLC /quotes/zigman/301787 UK:BARC +0.51%   /quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs BCS +1.51% gained 1.4%. The bank said full-year net profit fell 8% year-on-year to 3 billion British pounds (4.75 billion) amid "challenging economic and market conditions." Barclays also said it has capped bonus payments and cut its overall incentive awards by 26%. Also on the upside, ITV PLC /quotes/zigman/337392 UK:ITV +1.41%  managed a 2% gain to top the index. High Street retailer Next PLC /quotes/zigman/312884 UK:NXT +0.74%  climbed 0.8%. Deutsche Bank raised its rating on Next to buy from hold. Tobacco firms also rose, with British American Tobacco PLC /quotes/zigman/218491 UK:BATS +1.15%  up 1.1% and Imperial Tobacco Group PLC /quotes/zigman/167179 UK:IMT +0.58%  rising 0.6%. Clare Hutchison is a MarketWatch reporter, based in London.

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