U.K. Stocks Decline, Paced by Vodafone; Northern Rock, A&L Fall

U.K. stocks dropped, led by Vodafone Group Plc and Northern Rock Plc. Anglo American Plc paced a retreat in the shares of mining companies as copper fell to the lowest in more than 8 months.

Standard Chartered Plc advanced after the Financial Times reported China's three largest banks are interested in buying a stake in the company. Barratt Developments Plc also increased.

The FTSE 100 Index lost 20.3, or 0.3 percent, to 6,270.9 at 10:08 a.m. in London. The FTSE All-Share Index also declined 0.3 percent, to 3,215.05. Ireland's ISEQ Index fell 0.1 percent to 6,959.19.

Vodafone, the world's largest mobile-phone company, retreated 1 percent to 189.4.

Northern Rock plunged 22 percent to 103.1. The U.K. lender's 25 billion-pound ($51 billion) loan from the Bank of England won't be extended indefinitely, the government said, possibly deterring bidders for the U.K. bank that was bailed out in September.

Interested parties ``should not assume at this stage that the current Bank of England loan facilities will be available'' beyond February, the Treasury said in a statement.

Alliance & Leicester Plc, the U.K.'s second-worst performing banking stock this year, decreased 7.3 percent to 562.5.

Anglo American, the world's second-largest mining company, fell 1.7 percent to 3,033. BHP, the world's largest, dropped 1.4 percent to 1,580.
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