Markets Overview: (Source: Bloomberg, FT, Reuters, DJ Newswires)

The UK 100 Index is called to open flat at 6734pts after a wave of M&A news failed to give UK markets a boost on Monday as investors took profits after stocks hit their highest in two months the previous session.

The UK 100 finished 0.3% lower at 6,730 with a massive drop in the share price of oilfield services firm Petrofac and weakness in the mining sector offsetting bid activity which boosted shares of Friends Life , BT Group and Smith & Nephew.

Very little economic data was released on Monday, though things are likely to pick up later in the week with gross domestic product estimates due out in both the US and UK, inflation figures in the Eurozone and a host of data from Japan.

Petrofac 's (PFC.L) share price dropped 26% after the group scaled back its profit assumptions, saying that depressed oil prices and the timing of deliveries will result in a weaker bottom line. The company said net profits for 2014 will be at the lower end of the guided $580m-600m range, but would fall to just $500m in 2015. It had previously predicted "strong earnings growth" next year.

Mining stocks were also weighing on the UK 100 , pulling back after a PBoC-inspired rally on Friday. Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton (BLT.L) was leading the declines after cutting its spending plans for next year; Fresnillo (FRES.L), Anglo American (AAL.L) and Rio Tinto (RIO.L) were also lower.

Friends Life (FLG.L) shares jumped 6% as the market reacted to a proposed £5.6bn takeover offer from Aviva  late on Friday, expected to create the UK's "leading insurance, savings and asset management business by number of customers". However, Aviva (AV..L) finished firmly in the red with analysts citing uncertainty about the deal with details about potential synergies from the tie-up still unknown.

BT (BT.A.L) advanced after the telecoms giant confirmed rumours that it is in talks with two UK mobile network operators "about a possible transaction in which BT would acquire their UK mobile business". It said one of these operators is O2, owned by Spanish group Telefonica .

Smith & Nephew (SN..L) was a strong riser amid speculation that Stryker , the US orthopaedic group, will put in another bid for the medical devices company. The reports come as the six-month cooling-off period that followed the previous offer comes to an end this week.

US Markets finished broadly higher with the S&P 500 reaching another record high, with the Dow finishing just in the blue weighed down by Verizon and AT&T. However some traders remained tentative ahead of the OPEC meeting on Thursday, which had an impact on energy shares.

Asian markets were mixed with just the Nikkei positive by 0.3% following BoJ minutes that showed additional easing was proposed by Governor Kuroda. Elsewhere the Hang Seng was down slightly as the initial boost from China faded. The ASX meanwhile was the worst performer hit by commodity shares to finish lower by 0.7%

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UK Company Headlines: (Source: Reuters/DJ Newswires)

• IG to achieve record quarterly revenue in Q2
• Sizzling Pubs owner Mitchells & Butlers profit falls
• Clarkson to buy offshore and ship broker Platou Group
• Greencore sees doubling of capital expenditure in 2015
• Severn Trent first – half profits rise, maintains dividend
• Zoopla Property Group full – year earnings up 35 pct
• De La Rue H1 profit falls, sees tough years ahead