U.K. Stocks Pare Declines; Smith & Nephew, British Airways Rise

By Sarah Jones

Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks pared earlier declines, led by Smith & Nephew Plc and British Airways Plc.

The FTSE 100 Index lost 5.7, or 0.1 percent, to 5,471.8 at 8:57 a.m. in London. The measure earlier lost as much as 0.7 percent. The FTSE All-Share Index was little changed while Ireland's ISEQ Index increased 0.5 percent.

Smith & Nephew climbed 2.9 percent to 614.5 pence, extending yesterday's 5.2 percent advance. The shares climbed after Europe's largest maker of knee implants limited the financial effect of unacceptable sales practices at its orthopedics unit.

British Airways, Europe's third-largest airline, gained 3.1 percent to 263 pence. Carnival Plc, the world's largest cruise- line company, gained 2.3 percent to 1,893 pence.

Crude oil headed for its fourth decline in five weeks as demand fell and the dollar gained, reducing the appeal of commodities as an inflation hedge.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Jones in London at sjones35@bloomberg.net.