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FTSE 100 down 0.1%, FTSE 250 down 0.4%

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Mondi ( MNODF ) slumps to 12-year low after quarterly results

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Aston Martin down after annual loss warning

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Energy stocks gain on rising oil prices

By Purvi Agarwal

Oct 6 (Reuters) - London's benchmark FTSE 100 slipped on

Monday as investors took a breather after last week's rally that

pushed the index to record highs, while declines in shares of

packaging company Mondi ( MNODF ) after its quarterly results also

weighed.

The blue-chip index briefly crossed 9,500 for the

first time on Monday, its fifth consecutive session of record

highs, before reversing course. It was last down 0.1% at

9,482.86 points.

The industrials sector fell 3.9%. Mondi ( MNODF )

slumped 15.4%, hitting a 12-year low, after the

packaging company said growth in its core profit slowed for the

third-quarter on weak demand and lower prices.

Investors across the UK and European Union were also

spooked by the unexpected

resignation

of France's new prime minister Sebastian Lecornu and his

government on Monday, hours after he announced his cabinet

line-up. This made the government the shortest-lived in modern

French history.

British banks lost 0.6%.

"The fact that the French Prime Minister has resigned adds

to concerns around political and fiscal stability and more

broadly in the UK and Europe," said Fiona Cincotta, senior

market analyst at City Index.

"We often see the nerves surrounding the fiscal outlook

reflected in banking stocks."

Meanwhile, Citigroup double downgraded UK equities to

"underweight" from "overweight. It said that the market's

exposure to defensive sectors such as consumer staples and

utilities made it less attractive in an environment increasingly

favouring cyclical and growth-oriented plays.

On the flip side, energy stocks gained 1.4%,

tracking a rise in crude prices.

Healthcare stocks were up 0.1%. The sector

had boosted the FTSE 100 last week, logging their best weekly

showing since October 2008. The beaten-down sector saw investor

interest after a deal between U.S. administration and drug giant

Pfizer reduced some uncertainty around the sector.

Among other stocks, Aston Martin declined 6.5% after

the luxury carmaker warned of a deepening annual loss due to

weaker-than-expected demand in North America and Asia Pacific

and the impact of U.S. tariffs.

It weighed heavily on the mid-cap index that shed

0.4% on Monday after logging its biggest weekly gain in two

months on Friday.