RollsRoyce, Unilever fall after rating downgrades
Dec. UK Composite PMI at 50.4 vs 50.5 in November
FTSE 100 down 0.2, FTSE 250 adds 0.1

Jan 6 Reuters UK39;s FTSE 100 inched down on Monday as rating downgrades on index heavyweights RollsRoyce and Unilever weighed at the start of a datafilled week worldwide, including a jobs reading in the United States.

The bluechip benchmark fell 0.2 as of 0947 GMT, compared with a 0.2 rise in the panEuropean STOXX 600.

Aerospace and defence led losses amongst the major FTSE 350 sectors, falling 2.1, bogged down by a 2.8 decline in RollsRoyce after Citigroup downgraded its rating on the engineering company to neutral from buy.

A gauge of consumer staples firms shed 1.2 as index heavyweight Unilever eased 1.7 after RBC downgraded the consumer goods group to underperform from sector perform.

On the bright side, industrial support services gained 1 with Spectris adding 2.9 after HSBC upgraded the scientific instruments maker to buy from hold.

The more domestically focussed FTSE 250 midcap index was up 0.1.

Meanwhile, a survey showed British business activity growth slowed to a crawl in December and employers cut staffing at the fastest rate in almost four years, on a continued decline in corporate morale after the government39;s budget.

The FTSE 100 rose nearly 6 in 2024, its fourth successive yearly advance, as sentiments improved following two interest rate cuts by the Bank of England during the year.

However, implications of…