FTSE ends down as weak telecoms eclipse miners and oils

By Atul Prakash

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's blue-chip share index

ended lower on Monday, as losses in Vodafone and Unilever outweighed gains in mining and oil stocks on acquisition talk and record high crude prices.

The FTSE 100 closed down 8.2 points, or 0.1 percent, at 5,794.6, after losing 1.8 percent last week.

Index heavyweight Vodafone shed more than 2 percent, with traders saying investors switched out of the relatively safe telecoms sector. Fixed-line operator BT Group was down 1.6 percent.

Unilever and Cadbury both fell 2.9 percent, after UBS said the sector's premium valuation was susceptible to any disappointment. The broker lowered its rating on Unilever and Cadbury to "sell".

But heavyweight oil stocks rose as crude jumped to a record high near $140 a barrel. BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Cairn Energy

gained between 0.3 and 1.1 percent.

"Oil brings the energy stocks back into focus," said Keith Bowman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.