U.K.'s FTSE 100 Falls for 4th Day; BP, Shell Decline (Correct)

(Removes incorrect reference to Montpellier in headline.)

July 20 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks fell for a fourth day. Energy stocks including BP Plc dropped after crude-oil futures slipped from a six-week high.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index shed 10.6, or 0.25 percent, to 4310.5 as of 9:55 a.m. in London. The FTSE All-Share Index lost 5.51, or 0.3 percent, to 2151.68.

Crude oil for August delivery dropped 0.3 percent to $41.53 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The futures reached a six-week high yesterday on concern soaring demand may have sapped U.S. oil inventories for a third week.

BP, Europe's biggest oil company, shed 4.25 pence, or 0.9 percent, to 490.25. Shell Transport & Trading Co., which owns 40 percent of Royal Dutch/Shell Group, fell 2.75 pence, or 0.7 percent, to 395.75.

The following stocks made gains or losses today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.

Amec Plc, the world's No. 3 engineering-design company, surged 43.75 pence, or 16.2 percent, to 313.75, the biggest gain in the FTSE 350 Index, after the Guardian newspaper reported speculation about a takeover approach.

Several of the biggest investors, including Legal & General Group Plc and Fidelity Investment Services Ltd., were asked if they'd support an offer of 400 pence a share, the paper said without citing anyone. Possible bidders might include Fluor Corp. or Bechtel Group Inc. of the U.S., the report said.

``We don't have any comment right now because we're looking into it,'' said Harold Ashurst, a spokesman for Northwich, England-based Amec. ``It's taken us by surprise.''

Montpellier Group Plc (MPL LN) surged as much as 10 percent after the company withdrew from an order to build a research facility for Oxford University. The company had become a target for anti-vivisectionists after agreeing to build the laboratory, which would have centralized the university's animal research, newspapers including the London-based Times reported. The shares rose 1.25 pence, or 6.4 percent, to 20.75.

Northern Rock Plc (NRK LN), the U.K.'s ninth-largest bank, shed 13 pence, or 1.9 percent, to 680. The bank's growth in first- half profit slowed by more than half as lending profitability decreased.

Sage Group Plc (SGE LN), Britain's biggest maker of accounting software, climbed 0.5 penny, or 0.3 percent, to 170.75 after analysts at UBS AG recommended investors buy the stock.

Shire Pharmaceuticals (SHP LN), the U.K.'s third-largest drugmaker, slid 4 pence, or 0.9 percent, to 432 after it said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration extended its review of the company's Fosrenol treatment for kidney-failure patients.

The 90-day extension won't delay Shire's introduction of the product, which is planned for December, Shire spokeswoman Jessica Mann said in an interview. Shire is counting on Fosrenol to boost profit and lessen dependence on its No. 1 product, the hyperactivity treatment Adderall XR, for revenue growth.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stephen Cunningham in London at scunningha10@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 20, 2004 05:03 EDT