By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- After rising for two straight weeks,
U.K. stocks continued to advance on Monday, led by resource firms,
while GlaxoSmithKline PLC dropped after disappointing test
results.
The benchmark rose 0.2% to 6,625.89, on track for a second
straight day in positive territory. For the quarter, however, the
FTSE was eyeing a 1.8% decline.
Mining stocks rose alongside mostly higher metals prices. Shares
of Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) gained 2.3%, Anglo American PLC picked up
2%, Antofagasta PLC advanced 0.6% and BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) rose
0.5%.
The sector also experienced reasonable gains last week, after
weak data from China spurred speculation Beijing would launch fresh
easing measures to boost the economy and avoid a sharp
slowdown.
On Monday, energy firms also showed positive moves, with shares
of BG Group PLC 1.2% higher and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) rising
0.8%. Oil prices moved slightly higher, inching closer to $102 a
barrel.
Insurance firms rebounded from losses seen on Friday, when the
sector was hit hard by a report in The Telegraph of plans of an
investigation by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority into older
pensions and savings plans. The FCA on Friday issued a statement to
clarify that it wasn't looking at applying current standards
retrospectively and said on Monday it launched an independent
investigation into a briefing one of its directors gave to the
newspaper.
Shares of Resolution Ltd. gained 1.6%, Aviva PLC rose 1.5% and
Legal & General Group PLC added 0.9%.
Shares of Babcock International Group PLC jumped 4.5% after the
engineering company said the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has
selected the company's joint venture, Cavendish Fluor Partnership,
as the preferred bidder to buy Magnox Ltd. and Research Sites
Restoration Ltd., the license companies for 12 U.K. nuclear
sites.
On a more downbeat note, shares of GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK)
lost 0.9% after the drug maker released disappointing results from
a late-stage study of Darapladib, a new heart disease drug.
Separately, the Bank of England said the number of loan
approvals for house purchases was a weaker-than-expected 70,309 in
February, compared with an average of 69,563 over the previous six
months.
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