FTSE 100 Slips Into Red In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks edged lower on Monday and the pound traded higher ahead of the flash PMI data due later in the day.

The Bank of England meets on Dec. 19, with analysts predicting no change in interest rates.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 15 points, or 0.2 percent, at 8,285 after closing 0.1 percent lower on Friday.

Gambling outfit Entain that owns Ladbrokes plunged 5 percent after Australia's anti-money laundering regulator had opened civil penalty proceedings related to alleged breaches of the country's contraventions anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism law.

Ricardo, a strategic, environmental, and engineering consulting company, gained about 1 percent after an announcement that its Australian unit has signed an agreement to acquire 85 percent of E3 Advisory for approximately A$101.4 million or 51.0 million pounds.