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* FTSE 100 up 0.1 pct
* Just Eat hit by DB downgrade
* Vectura, Hikma hit by delay to Advair drug
* GKN up slightly after "final" offer from Melrose
By Helen Reid
Early gains for the FTSE 100 quickly dissipated and it wasup just 0.1 percent by 0942 GMT, missing out on a rally liftingEuropean stocks, with
Falls in miners and oil majors had the biggest influence asthe price of metals and crude fell.
Takeaway company Just Eat was the biggest faller,down 4.2 percent after Deutsche Bank cut its rating to 'sell'.
"Just Eat is expanding into food takeaway delivery, analready crowded market, versus the company's existing positionas an order aggregation platform," Deutsche Bank analysts said.
Competition from rivals such as Deliveroo and UberEats wouldalso crimp its growth, Deutsche said.
Just Eat's shares are down 12 percent since its results lastweek, when it said it would invest in delivery in the
Merger and acquisition news also drove British shares, withGKN up 1.8 percent after Melrose made a finaloffer for the engineering company, increasing its initial bid to8.1 billion pounds from 7.4 billion pounds.
"The muted market reaction of the GKN share price to theincreased offer of 467p by Melrose is the strongest indicationyet that Melrose might not get its way and that GKN’s managementand their Project Boost strategy is winning," said RebeccaO'Keeffe, head of investment at Interactive Investor.
The FTSE 250 managed a 0.2 percent gain, but sawsome heavy losses from Vectura and Hikma.
Hikma fell 2 percent after the pharmaceutical firmsuffered a setback when
Vectura, Hikma's partner on the drug, sank 7.3percent to the bottom of the FTSE 250. The firm said thegeneric medication could be approved and launched in 2020.
The stock is down 37 percent year-to-date, while Hikma isdown 21.6 percent.
Overall the results season has been encouraging, said PeelHunt strategist Ian Williams.
"There have been a few profit warnings in theconsumer-facing areas, but 2017 reported numbers have come in abit better than expected and the growth number for 2017 has comeup a bit," he said.
The FTSE 100 remains cheaper than euro zone stocks onforward price-to-earnings, after February's sell-off sentvaluations across markets down.
"I don't think you can argue that valuation is going tobounce back to its previous level," added Williams.
Gold miners Fresnillo and Randgold Resourcesfell 1.1 and 1.4 percent, as the price of the safe-havenmetal was dragged down by a broader equity marketrecovery.
easyJet was a top gainer, up 2.2 percent after anote from Credit Suisse argued the budget airline's summerpricing could deliver positive surprises.
(Reporting by Helen ReidEditing by Alexander Smith)
