The London market ended lower, amid news of a Brazilian lawsuit for miner BHP Billiton and fresh reports that the owner of Holiday Inn hotels is being chased by three Chinese suitors.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is being pursued by Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels Group, the airlines owner HNA Group and the sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp, lifting the hotel chain almost three per cent.
The FTSE 100 Index fell 19.1 points to 6356.1 in the last trading day of the month, edging towards the psychologically-important 6400 mark.
Germany's DAX was up 0.8 per cent, while and the Cac 40 in France was 0.6 per cent higher.
In New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average was slightly lower in early trading.
The pound was a cent higher against the euro at 1.42, as traders expect the European Central Bank ECB to launch a further round of quantitative easing next month. Sterling was little changed against the US dollar at 1.50.
IHG lifted up 67p to 2556p as the FTSE 100 group, valued at £5.8 billion and often cited as a takeover prospect, is mooted as a target in light of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide agreeing to be bought by rival Marriott earlier this month for $12.2 billion (£8 billion).
A big faller in the top flight was miner BHP Billiton, down 1.3 per cent, or 10.7p, to 797p following the Brazilian federal government launching a £3 billion suit against the firm and its partner Vale after a mud slide at its Samarco mine earlier this month which killed 13 people.
Bank stocks were lower ahead of the results of the Bank of England stress tests released on Tuesday, which may impact the dividend payouts of lenders if they have to boost their capital buffers.
Royal Bank of Scotland was down 4.3p to 302.4p, HSBC was 5.4p lower to 529.5p, and Barclays fell 1.1p to 223.2p.
Fund manager Aberdeen Asset Management was the biggest faller in the top flight after its assets under management slumped by 12.5 per cent to £283.7 billion, hit by weak investor sentiment towards Asia and other emerging markets.
The group notched up its 10th consecutive quarter of net fund outflows, as shares fell by more than four per cent, or 15.4p to 319.4p.
Elsewhere, sausage maker Cranswick was a strong performer in the FTSE 250 up almost six per cent, or 97p to 1797p, and said pre-tax profits rose 3.6 per cent to £25.5 million in the six months to the end of September, despite a competitive market.
The Hull-based pork and poultry producer said trading lifted by a 17 per cent rise in sales to the Far East adding it is now shipping 1,000 tonnes of its products each week to the region.
Also, fashion retailer French Connection jumped 26 per cent, or 7.9p to 38.3p, after it said strong sales of its winter fashions have put it on track to meet the market's full-year expectations.
The firm, which embarked on a turnaround plan in 2012, posted a 0.2 per cent rise in like-for-like retail sales in the UK and Europe for the 16 weeks to November 21, compared with a 6.1 per cent fall a year ago.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were Glencore up 4.8p at 96.7p, Taylor Wimpey up 5.9p at 194.6p, Sports Direct International up 19.5p at 731p and InterContinental Hotels Group up 67p at 2556p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 Index were Aberdeen Asset Management down 15.4p at 319.4p, SSE down 26p to 1434p, Unilever down 42p at 2834p and Royal Bank of Scotland down 4.3p at 302.4p.
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