London's FTSE 100 edged lower on Monday as losses in precious metal miners outweighed gains in financial stocks, ‌while investors assessed ⁠a ⁠string of merger and acquisition announcements.The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 0.1% to 10,663.68 points by 1037 GMT, ​while the midcap FTSE 250 slipped 0.06%.* Precious metal miners fell 0.9% after gold prices slipped from a ​two-week high, as the U.S. dollar ticked up in anticipation of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting minutes due later this week.* Travel and leisure stocks, however, ​rose 0.7% - led by easyJet, which gained 9.9% after the British ⁠budget airline ‌agreed in principle to a sweetened takeover offer from U.S. investment ​firm Castlelake, ​valuing the carrier at up to 5.5 billion pounds ($7.34 billion).* Media ⁠stocks led sectoral gains, rising 0.9%, boosted by a 3.9% jump ​in WPP shares, while ITV added 1.6% after the British broadcaster ​agreed to sell its media and entertainment division to Comcast-owned Sky for 1.6 billion pounds ($2.13 billion).* "There's plenty of, in particular, U.S. money, but also Chinese money that looks at some of the assets," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation. "It's a good opportunity to get invested or even to buy a chunk of UK companies."* On ‌the geopolitical front, investors saw little progress in efforts to ease tensions in the Middle East, though uninterrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz ​and expectations of ​higher supply helped push ⁠oil prices lower.* The Bank of England could give Britain's government bond market a boost this week and lower public borrowing costs by more than 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) ​a year, banks say - but some former regulators warn a change in rules to achieve this would increase financial risks.* Among individual stocks, Ocado fell 5.6% after the online grocery technology firm said Tim Steiner would continue to serve as CEO until the start of the 2028 financial year, when it will aim to have a successor in place.