Stocks in London mainly moved lower Tuesday, with building materials group Travis Perkins PLC and insurer Standard Life PLC leading decliners after they reported earnings. The FTSE 100 index UKX, +0.30% lost 0.6% to 6,651.84, setting it on track for a second straight day of losses. The benchmark on Monday broke a four-session winning streak as miners posted losses after Chinese manufacturing data indicated weakness in the sector. Travis Perkins TPK, -2.70% led the list of fallers on Tuesday, down 3.4%, with investors shrugging off its latest earnings report, which showed an uptick in first-half pretax profit and a 20% rise in dividend. Standard Life SL., -2.90% fell 2.8% after the insurer and asset manager said revenue declined in the first half of the year due to market volatility. Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC RBS, +0.59% RBS, -1.59% shaved off 0.9% after the government sold a 5.4% stake in the part state-owned bank, kicking off a long-awaited privatization of the lender. On a more upbeat note in London, shares of Meggitt PLC MGGT, +5.49% climbed 4.9% after the engineering company backed its full-year guidance and reported a rise in first-half earnings. Direct Line Insurance Group PLC DLG, +1.97% added 1.5% after reporting a jump in profit, boosted by a reduction in claims. At 9:30 a.m. London time, attention shifts to the U.K. construction purchasing managers' index for July, forecast to show that the sector continued to expand at a rapid pace last month. Source: MarkeWatch
