3:00PM New York, 7:00PM London - UK stock fell on Monday, recorded 3.8% rise in 2007. The British pound plunged against euro in December.

In London trading, FTSE 100 declined 0.3% or 20 at 6,456.9 led by Old Mutual in short trading session.

Loses were visible in oil stocks on Monday. BP and Royal Dutch shares fell 0.7% and 0.8% respectively. Resource shares also slipped in the red with BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto sliding 1% each while global mining giant Anglo American lost 0.6%.

Financial share declined. HSBC fell 0.3%, Lloyds TSB shed 0.7% and Barclays fell 0.5%.

Retailers traded mixed, with shares of home-improvement chain Kingfisher sliding 2.6% while Marks & Spencer traded flat as investors mulled data about shopping patterns over Christmas as well as rapid decline in the U.K. mortgage market.

Among the FTSE 100 index stocks, 44 stocks gained, 54 stock declined while the remainder remained unchanged.

The pound declined 9% in 2007 against the euro after its three year rise on the speculation that the Bank of England may have to lower the interest rates while the European Central Bank may keep interest on hold.

The London Bank three weeks ago cut its benchmark rate to 5.5% from a six-year high of 5.75%. The ECB kept its key rate at 4% on Dec. 6 citing upside risk to inflation.

The pound dropped 3.1% against euro the largest decline in four years. The pound fell to a record low of 73.89 pence this month.

Of the FTSE 100 index stocks, Friends Provident led the gainers with a rise of 2.8% followed by increases in British Energy of 2.6%, in Whitbread of 1.9%, in Hammerson of 1.6%, and in Royal and Sun Alliance of 1.5%.

Of the FTSE 100 index stocks Old Mutual led the decliners with a loss of 2.6% followed by losses in Severn Trent of 2.3%, in Taylor Wimpey of 2%, in Antofagasta of 1.9%, and in Scottish and Smith of 1.7%.

Elsewhere in Europe, the France''s CAC 40 lost 0.2% or 13.2 to 5,614.08. In 2007 the French benchmark rose for the fifth year in a row and managed to eke out a small gain of 1.3%.

Stock markets in Germany and Italy were closed but Germany''s DAX Index outperformed other European markets during this year. DAX index in Germany led the region with a gain of 22%. Russia led the wider region with a rise of 27%. ISEQ Index in Ireland fell 26% in the year.


11:00AM New York – U.S. stocks decline on the last day of trading in 2007.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 36.75 to 13,329.12, Nasdaq declined 22.15 to 2,651.86, and S&P 500 lost 9.96 to 1,468.53.

Total existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 0.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.00 million units in November from an upwardly revised pace of 4.98 million in October, but are 20% below the 6.25 million-unit level in November 2006.

The national median existing-home prices for all housing types was $210,200 in November, down 3.3% from November 2006 when the median was $217,300, but there remains a downward drag on the national median as the mix of closed sales has shifted away from expensive markets.

Home builders stocks were mixed after the report. Beazer Homes rose 19 cents to $7.30, D R Horton fell 14 cents to $12.96, Toll Brothers fell 33 cents to $19.73, and Lennar fell 8 cents to $17.42.