By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks climbed on Tuesday, catching
up with a rally in other European markets on Monday, when London
was closed for a bank holiday.
The FTSE 100 index rose 0.7% to end at 6,822.76, marking the
highest closing level since July 7.
The gain came after the rest of European stock markets posted
solid gains on Monday, spurred by European Central Bank President
Mario Draghi's unexpected hint at Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Friday
that full-on quantitative easing could be on the way for the
region. The Stoxx Europe 600 index scored the biggest rally in a
week after the comments and continued to push higher on
Tuesday.
Among major movers in London, shares of WPP PLC picked up 1.4%
after the advertising giant reported a rise in first-half profit as
revenue improved.
Shares of Bunzl PLC climbed 0.6% after the distributor of
cleaning products and outsourcing company posted a rise in
first-half pretax profit.
Banks were also among advancers, with shares of Barclays PLC
(BCS) up 1.1%, HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBC) rising 0.7%, and Royal Bank
of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) 2.1% higher.
Bucking the positive trend, Antofagasta PLC slumped 1.2% after
the miner said earnings fell in the first half of the year, due to
lower copper output and weaker prices.
Petrofac Ltd. gave up 0.3%. The oil-services company reported a
drop in first-half profit, but said it remains on course to achieve
full year targets.
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