By Aude Lagorce, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks rose on Thursday, helped by
a rally in the commodities sector, as investors held their breath
ahead of a European Central Bank meeting that could see it take new
steps to halt sovereign-debt contagion in the euro zone.
The FTSE 100 index gained 0.3% to 5,658.07 in morning trading.
The index snapped a three-day losing streak to close up 2.1% on
Wednesday.
The mining sector, which is sensitive to growth prospects, was
the top performer on Thursday.
Shares of Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) advanced 2.6% and Antofagasta PLC gained 1.5%.
African Barrick Gold Plc rallied 2.8% after it said the initial
mineral resource at its Gokona and Nyabigena open pits in Tanzania
indicates potential.
Among individual gainers, shares of TUI Travel PLC rose 2%. The
leisure group said its annual loss widened to 104 million pounds
($163 million) but its operating profit rose 11%.
On the downside share of aerospace engine maker Rolls-Royce
Group PLC declined 1.5% after Australian airline Qantas Airways
Ltd. said it can pursue legal action against the firm.
Qantas last month was forced to ground its entire Airbus A380
fleet, which is equipped with Rolls-Royce engines, after one of
them made an emergency landing in Singapore. The aircraft suffered
an engine failure shortly after takeoff. An inquiry has traced the
problem to a single component in the turbine area of the
Rolls-Royce engine.
Qantas said in a statement Thursday it is in talks with
Rolls-Royce over the "financial and operational" impacts of the
incident.
In the financial sector, Barclays PLC (BCS) slipped 0.7%. The
Financial Times newspaper reported that the bank will cut hundreds
of jobs in the U.K. after being hit by a slowdown in revenues.