STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-UK small caps close 0.2 pct lower

The FTSE Small Cap index .FTSC closes 0.2 percent lower, while the blue chips .FTSE fall 0.5 percent and the midcaps .FTMC are 0.8 percent weaker.

Volumes on the FTSE Small Cap index are about 63 percent of its 90-day daily average, while the 90-day daily average volumes for the FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250 are about 116 percent and around 100 percent respectively.

Care UK (CUK.L) is the biggest small cap riser, up nearly 27 percent as the health and social care provider rejects an unsolicited approach from British private-equity investor Bridgepoint Capital. [ID:nBNG519960]

Hamworthy (HAMW.L) falls more than 8 percent after the marine engineering group says challenging market conditions are unlikely to change in the near term and orders in the second half are at the same low level as in the prior-year, prompting Jefferies International to downgrade its rating on the stock to "underperform" from "buy".

Reuters Messaging rm://tricia.wright1.reuters.com@reuters.net