FTSE 100 closes flat on mixed news

 FTSE 100 Index, the British benchmark stock market gauge, Monday closed flat, slipping by merely 0.01 percent, or 0.44 points, to 6550.30, as markets reacted to mixed news.

Policy maker at the Bank of England Kristen Forbes Sunday said interest rates need to be increased "well before" inflation reaches the BoE's target of 2 percent.

"Maintaining interest rates at the current low levels during an expansion risks creating distortions," she wrote in an article in a British newspaper.

Financial investor St James's Place share price dropped by 1.53 percent topped the losers of the blue chips.

Share prices of Glencore, BHP Billiton, Morrison Supermarkets, Standard Chartered and Weir Group declined by 1.42 percent, 1.35 percent, 1.24 percent and 1.24 percent respectively.

Wolseley led the top gainers of the blue chips with a share price increase of 2.26 percent, followed by Admiral Group (2.22 percent), TUI AG (1.89 percent), ARM Holdings (1.66 percent) and National Grid (1.27 percent).

Trading volume in FTSE 100 companies was 35 percent smaller than its 30-day average. The index has gained 2.80 percent so far this year.