BUZZ-Kingfisher: rallies as peer underperforms

** B&Q owner Kingfisher (Amsterdam: KF6.AS - news) +1.9 pct in heavy volume, by far and away top riser on a declining FTSE 100, on hopes for an easing of competition

** Australian retail giant Wesfarmers Ltd wrote off British hardware chain Homebase for more than its purchase price, saying it had made a series of mistakes

** With Homebase, Wesfarmers was seeking to replicate the success of its hardware business Bunnings, the market leader in Australia

** Homebase is expected to post a half-year underlying loss of A$165 mln for the six months to Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) 30, Wesfarmers says, adding that it plans to close up to a sixth of its 234 stores in Britain. It did not give a timeframe

** "Bunnings has been viewed as a big strategic threat to B&Q since it entered the market in Feb 2016. The news this morning must now call in to question its longer-term ambition (remember Wesfarmers is under new management)," says Davy analyst Michael Mitchell

** "On a shorter term basis, the poor performance most likely means they have lost significant share in the last 3 months, which might mean B&Q performance is better than expected," he says

** Kingfisher (Frankfurt: 812861 - news) bucks steep falls in broader market on Monday and is most actively traded UK blue chip stock (RM (LSE: RM.L - news) : tricia.wright1.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)