(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* Entain plunges as MGM abandons takeover plan
* Hammerson down on low first-quarter rents
* Superdry tumbles on first-half loss
* FTSE 100 down 0.1%, FTSE 250 sheds 0.1%
(Updates to market close; Adds details, comment)
By Shivani Kumaresan
Jan 19 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 reversed early gains on
Tuesday, as Ladbrokes owner Entain slumped after U.S. casino
operator MGM opted out of a $11 billion takeover plan, while
miners also dragged.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 0.1%, declining for
the third consecutive session.
Entain plunged 11.9% to the bottom of the blue-chip
index after MGM said it would not submit a revised proposal or
make a firm offer for Entain, which had said the approach
announced two weeks ago significantly undervalued its business.
Miners dragged even as Rio Tinto - the world's
biggest iron ore producer - reported a 2.4% rise in
fourth-quarter iron ore shipments, helped by industrial activity
in China.
Rio's shares fell 1.0%, while Anglo American and
Glencore dropped more than 1%.
"Today is an example of a period which we are in right now -
which is very much a consolidatory phase," said Craig Erlam, an
analyst at OANDA.
"In the coming days, we will learn a lot about how impactful
the new U.S. administration will be, with the slimmest of
majority in the Senate."
The FTSE 100 tumbled 14.3% in 2020, its worst performance
since the 2008 financial crisis and underperforming its European
peers by a wide margin, as pandemic-driven lockdowns battered
the economy and led to mass layoffs.
Britain reported a record number of deaths from COVID-19
today with 1,610 people dying within 28 days of positive
coronavirus test, exceeding the previous peak set last week.
The mid-cap index lost 0.1%, with real estate and
consumer stocks being the biggest drag on the index.
In other company news, shopping centre operator Hammerson
Plc fell 2.1% after receiving less than half of the
rents due for the first quarter as stricter COVID-19
restrictions aggravated conditions in Britain's high streets and
rest of Europe.
OXO cube maker Premier Foods fell 4.8% despite a 90%
jump in the third-quarter online sales, while British fashion
group Superdry lost 16.3% after reporting a big drop in
sales in the Christmas quarter.
(Reporting by Shivani Kumaresan in Bengaluru; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu, Shailesh Kuber and Alexandra Hudson)