*

FTSE 100 down 0.13%, FTSE 250 down 0.44%

*

Mondi ( MNODF ) slumps after quarterly results

*

Aston Martin down after annual loss warning

*

Energy stocks gain on rising oil prices

(Updates after markets close)

By Purvi Agarwal

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

lower on Monday as investors took a breather after last week's

record peak and sold shares of packaging company Mondi ( MNODF ) after its

disappointing results.

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 closed down 0.13% at 9,479.14

points.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 shed 0.44% after logging its

biggest weekly gain in two months on Friday.

Mondi ( MNODF ) shares slumped 16% to a nearly 11-year low after

the company said growth in its third-quarter core profit slowed

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 0.5%.

"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 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, precious metal miners rose

nearly 2% after gold surged to an all-time high above $3,900 per

ounce.

Energy stocks gained 1.5%, tracking a rise in

crude prices.

The healthcare sector, which had boosted the

FTSE 100 last week by logging its best weekly performance since

October 2008, was nearly flat on the day. Investor interest in

the beaten-down sector rebounded after a U.S.-Pfizer ( PFE ) deal to

lower prescription drug prices in the Medicaid program reduced

industry uncertainty.

Aston Martin shares declined 10.1%, weighing heavily on

the FTSE 250, 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.